ع
The Saudi delegation will be led by Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman while Pakistan will be represented by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Turkey by its intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin. Iranian state television broadcast comments from the deputy secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Bagheri Kani, confirming the visitors would hold talks with the council on regional security. The meeting was proposed during Munir’s visit to Tehran the previous week, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
This encounter constitutes the initial high-level contact between Iran and the full membership of the Makkah Pact since Saudi Arabia came under intensified pressure from Yemen’s Houthis. The Iran-aligned group has escalated its attacks in recent weeks, prompting Saudi interception of missiles and drones on multiple occasions. According to Reuters, the three nations signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in August under which an attack on one is considered an attack on all.
An emergency meeting of the pact took place in Riyadh on October 5 where participants agreed to mechanisms for rapid military deployment in support of Saudi Arabia. The current diplomatic push follows separate mediation by Qatar, whose officials met with Iranian counterparts in Tehran on Sunday in an effort to de-escalate tensions. Pakistan has also been involved in prior mediation attempts that produced a short-lived interim peace agreement in June.
Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister for public diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rayed Krimly, outlined the goals of the trip in a post on X. He said the visit was aimed at de-escalation and finding diplomatic solutions to the current crises in the region. Krimly added that it would emphasise the pivotal role of the Makkah Agreement states in restoring the security and stability of the region and working with all regional countries toward achieving that goal.
The Saudi government media office, Pakistan’s military media wing and Turkey’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment, Reuters said. The talks occur as rhetoric between Washington and Tehran has grown more heated in recent days. Iranian officials have characterised the gathering as potentially leading to the establishment of broader regional security arrangements.
