- Senior officials set to meet Iran’s security council as Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia heighten regional tensions and pressure for coordinated action
Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are scheduled to meet Iranian counterparts in Tehran today (Monday) to discuss regional security and coordination, as escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia add to tensions across the Middle East.
According to Reuters, Saudi Arabia will be represented by Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, while Pakistan’s delegation will include Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. Turkey’s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin, is also expected to attend. Iran’s deputy secretary of its Supreme National Security Council, Ali Bagheri Kani, confirmed that the officials would visit Tehran for consultations on regional security.
The meeting would mark the first high-level engagement between Iran and all three members of the Makkah Pact — Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan — since Saudi Arabia came under increased attacks from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement as Saudi forces intercepted another wave of missiles and drones on Sunday as fighting with the group continued.
The planned talks come amid growing concern over the wider regional conflict and its potential to draw additional countries into the confrontation. Earlier this month, ministers from the three Makkah Pact countries met in Riyadh and agreed to ensure the rapid deployment of military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia in response to mounting security threats.
The three countries signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in August. Under the pact, an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against all three. Its first article commits the parties to using “all necessary means” to address threats to their territorial integrity, sovereignty or internationally recognized borders. Pakistan approved the agreement last week, while ratification proceedings in Turkey’s parliament remain underway.
Pakistan has also emerged as an important intermediary between Washington and Tehran. Field Marshal Munir visited Iran last week and met President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials. Iranian media reported that Tehran had told the Pakistani delegation it would not hold talks with Washington until its demands were met.
Earlier mediation efforts involving Pakistan helped produce an interim peace agreement in June, but the arrangement quickly unravelled after fighting between Iran and the United States resumed weeks later. The latest planned consultations could provide a further opportunity to discuss regional coordination, although no specific agreements or outcomes have been announced.
The Saudi government’s media office, Pakistan’s military media wing and Turkey’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on the planned meeting.
