Iran concerned with Raheel Sharif leading Saudi-led military coalition

With former Pakistan Army Chief Retired Gen Raheel Sharif heading the Saudi-led 39-nation Islamic military alliance, Iran has expressed concern over the development saying it is not 'satisfied' with the coalition.

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency quoted Ambassador to Pakistan Mehdi Honardoost as saying that Islamabad had contacted Iranian officials before issuing the no-objection certificate (NOC) to Sharif to lead the coalition, reports Dawn.

"But [that] did not indicate that Iran was satisfied with this decision or it had accepted the same," the envoy said.

Noting that Tehran had informed Islamabad that Iran would not become part of such a military alliance, Honardoost further said that Iran had not been extended an offer to join a coalition of this sort in the first place.

He proposed that all important Islamic countries come together to form a "coalition of peace" in order to resolve their issues "rather [than] forming a controversial military alliance".

In 2015, Saudi Arabia had announced the formation of a 34-state Islamic military coalition to combat terrorism and Pakistan was made a member of the coalition.

Riyadh and its Gulf Arab neighbours have been locked in months of warfare with Iran-allied rebels in neighbouring Yemen, launching hundreds of air strikes there.

This alliance was announced with the Islamic State pledging to overthrow the monarchies of the Gulf and mounting a series of attacks on Shia Muslim mosques and security forces in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.