Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani Officials to Meet Iranian Leaders in Tehran

Delegations from the three countries in the Mecca Defence Alliance, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan, are set to travel to Tehran for talks on Monday, according to Saudi and Iranian officials.

Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told state-run media that Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud, Pakistani military chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin will take part in a joint meeting. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the council, will lead the Iranian side. Bagheri Kani said the participating countries could take an effective step toward building regional security founded on actors within the region.

Rayed Krimly, the Saudi deputy minister for public diplomacy, also confirmed the meeting. He said the visit is part of continuing efforts by the alliance partners "for de-escalation between parties involved in the ongoing crisis and promoting dialogue and diplomatic solutions in support of the mediation efforts carried out" by Qatar and Pakistan. In a post on X, he added that the visit "underscores the pivotal role of Mecca Joint Defence Agreement countries in reinforcing regional security and stability."

The talks would be the first high-level contact between Iran and every member of the alliance since the Iran-aligned Houthi group in Yemen escalated its attacks on Saudi Arabia last month. Saudi Arabia intercepted another wave of missiles and drones on Sunday as fighting with the Houthis went on.

Last week, Field Marshal Munir visited Tehran and met President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials. Iranian media reported that officials told him there would be no talks with the United States on ending the US-Israeli war on Iran until Tehran's demands are met.

Pakistan has served as a key intermediary between Washington and Tehran since the United States and Israel launched the war in February. Earlier mediation helped produce an interim agreement in June, but it quickly unravelled when fighting between Iran and the US resumed weeks later.

Earlier this month, ministers from the alliance countries held an emergency meeting in Riyadh and agreed to ensure the "rapid deployment" of military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia. The Houthi attacks have become an increasingly destabilising factor in the wider war, turning Saudi Arabia, a US ally, into a pressure point.

Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in August. Under its terms, an armed attack on one member is treated as an attack on all. The first article commits the parties to use "all necessary means" to eliminate threats to one another's territorial integrity, sovereignty and internationally recognised borders, according to the text published at the time.

Pakistan approved the pact last week. Turkiye's parliament began its own ratification process in the same period, and that effort is still under way.