Mecca Pact officials head to Tehran as Saudi, Turkey, Pakistan seek talks with Iran
Saudi Arabia's defense minister, Pakistan's army chief and Turkey's intelligence chief are expected in Tehran on Monday, the first such meeting since Houthi attacks on the kingdom escalated.
Archive image · Photo: U.S. Department of State from United States / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Top officials from the three so-called Mecca Pact countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan – are set to meet Iran's leadership in Tehran on Monday to discuss regional security. Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin will attend, Reuters reported, citing two people with knowledge of the matter. Saudi daily Arab News reported on Monday morning that Prince Khalid was leading a delegation to Tehran.
They are expected to meet Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, according to Türkiye Today. Ali Bagheri Kani, the council's deputy secretary, told state television the four-party meeting "could represent an important and effective step towards building lasting regional security." It would be the first high-level contact between Iran and all three pact members since the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia.
The three countries signed a defense agreement in August under which an attack on one is treated as an attack on all. The talks come amid a renewed diplomatic push to avert another round of fighting between the United States and Iran; Qatari mediators were in Tehran on Sunday. Pakistan and Qatar brokered an interim deal in June that collapsed weeks later.