This new mutual defense pact between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan seems like a huge deal to me. My take is that after the Israeli attack on Qatar, Saudi Arabia has decided it can’t rely on the US nuclear umbrella to cover it. So they are formalizing a relationship whereby they bankroll Pakistan (and probably its shadowy security services with ties to the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and other terrorist groups) in exchange for a nuclear arsenal with their names on it. It seems likely to me that other Gulf countries that often move in lockstep with Saudi Arabia (UAE, Bahrain, Oman) might join this alliance. I don’t know about Qatar itself, after Saudi Arabia was threatening them militarily just a couple years ago. And they have never ramped up military spending while welcoming in the US military. No matter how you look at it, it is a loss for control of nuclear proliferation and US influence in the region. It very well may have the deterrent effect on Israel that these countries are looking for, but it seems to drag a whole range of large countries into a mesh of confusing and entangled alliances, including the US, India, and China.