Officials from Makkah pact countries to meet Iranian officials in Tehran

Top officials from Makkah Pact countries ​Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are to meet Iran’s leaders in Tehran on Monday in their first high-level contact since the kingdom became a pressure point in ‌the wider Iran conflict.

Saudi Arabia will be represented by Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan by Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Turkiye by intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Saudi and Iranian officials said.

Attacks by Yemen’s Houthis have spiralled in recent weeks, and rhetoric between Washington and Tehran has grown more heated. Both countries have also drawn up plans to restart the wider war, possibly after the US midterm elections on November ​3.

Monday’s planned talks will be the first high-level contact between Iran and all members of the three-nation bloc since Saudi Arabia was drawn deeper into the conflict. Under the Makkah ​Joint Defence Agreement signed in August, an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei ⁠said on Monday that discussions on regional security would include “Israel’s expansionist policies, developments in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, and the repercussions of US and Israeli military action against Iran.”

Read: CDF Munir in Tehran as Makkah pact officials prepare to meet Iranian leadership to ease regional tensions

Baghaei said the meeting, ​proposed during a visit by Munir to Tehran last week, could be a first step towards establishing regional security mechanisms based on the interests of countries in the region.

Qatari mediators met Iranian officials ​in Tehran on Sunday in a push to de-escalate regional tensions, Reuters reported. Qatar has, for months, played a mediating role between Tehran and Washington.

A senior Iranian official said the meeting was initiated by Pakistan during CDF Munir’s visit to Tehran, as he met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials. During the visit, Iranian officials told him there would be no talks with Washington until Tehran’s demands were met, according to Iranian media.

Earlier ​mediation efforts involving both Pakistan and Qatar helped produce an interim peace agreement in June, but the deal quickly unravelled as fighting between Iran and the United States resumed weeks later.

The ​deputy secretary of Iran’s top security body, Ali Baqeri-Kani, told state TV that Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid, Pakistan’s Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin would visit Tehran for consultations with Iran’s Supreme National Security ‌Council on ⁠regional security.

Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly said the meeting is part of ongoing efforts by the Makkah Pact countries to de-escalate the current crisis, promote diplomatic solutions, and support mediation efforts led by Qatar and Pakistan. “The visit also underscores the pivotal role of the Makkah Pact states in fostering regional security and stability, and their commitment to working with all nations in the region toward achieving this goal,” Krimly posted on X.

Pakistan’s military media wing and Turkey’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.