KARACHI, Pakistan

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday embarked on a brief visit to Saudi Arabia, a day after holding a phone call with the Iranian president, amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East, state media reported.

During the visit, Sharif will hold a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The two leaders will discuss the ongoing tensions in the region, the regional security situation and the bilateral relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, Radio Pakistan reported.

The trip comes after Sharif on Wednesday held a phone talk with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who told the Pakistani prime minister that the only way to end the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel and Iran is through recognizing his country’s “legitimate rights” and firm international guarantees against “future aggression."

Last September, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed a mutual defense pact pledging that any attack on one country would be treated as an attack on both.

The escalation in the Middle East flared since Israel and the US launched a joint attack against Iran on Feb. 28, killing more than 1,300 victims to date, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and over 150 schoolgirls.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, killing at least eight US service members and injuring some 140 others.

At least three Pakistani citizens have also lost their lives in the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict.

Iran has also closed the Strait of Hormuz since around March 1, sending oil prices surging. The narrow shipping lane handles about 20 million barrels of oil daily and roughly 20% of the global liquefied natural gas trade.

Pakistan, which relies on oil imports, has hiked petroleum prices since and is in talks with Saudi Arabia to secure oil shipments from the Red Sea route.