Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday claimed that Zionists were behind the Iran war as part of a wider plan to expand Israel’s influence towards Pakistan’s borders.In a post on X, Asif said that despite Iran’s readiness for an agreement, “a war has been imposed upon them, and its agenda, orchestrated by the Zionists, includes bringing Israel’s influence right up to Pakistan’s border”.

“From the establishment of Israel on the land of Palestine until today, every catastrophe that has befallen the Islamic world, every war imposed upon it, will show the direct or indirect hand of Zionist ideology and the state.”Asif also alleged that Afghanistan, Iran, and India were sharing a “joint single point agenda” of enmity towards Pakistan. “The joint single point agenda of Afghanistan, Iran, and India will then be enmity towards Pakistan, making our borders insecure, surrounding us with enemies from all sides, and turning Pakistan into a vassal state,” he claimed.He urged Pakistanis, regardless of political or religious affiliation, to “understand this conspiracy and the intentions of our eternal enemies”.His remarks come at a time when Pakistan’s ties with Afghanistan remain strained after recent border clashes. Afghanistan has also stepped up diplomatic engagement with India in recent months.The conflict in the Middle East has widened after the United States and Israel carried out major strikes on Iran that killed the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has since launched heavy reprisals across the region.