Officials from Makkah pact countries to meet Iranian officials today

Senior officials from the Makkah Alliance countries Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye are set to meet Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday to discuss regional security and cooperation.

Field Marshal Asim Munir, Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Türkiye’s intelligence chief are expected to attend the meeting, Reuters reported, citing sources.

The talks will focus on regional coordination and security cooperation, according to the sources.

The meeting would mark the first high-level joint engagement between the three countries and Iran since the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia intensified.

According to Iranian media, deputy secretary of ​Iran’s top security body Ali Bagheri Kani told state TV that Field Marshal Asim Munir, Saudi Defence Minister Prince ​Khalid and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin would visit Tehran for consultations ⁠with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on regional security.

Ali Bagheri Kani said the three senior officials are scheduled to meet with SNSC Secretary Major General Mohsen Rezaei and participate in a joint session on Monday.

Ali Bagheri said the three countries could work with Iran to take effective steps towards establishing regional security.

Speaking to Iranian media, Bagheri said a joint security framework could be developed that relied solely on the capabilities of countries in the region.

He said Iran’s defence model was based on domestic capabilities and national resources, adding that ensuring regional security through the countries of the region was Tehran’s policy.

The Saudi government media office, Pakistan’s military media wing ​and Turkey’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The planned talks would be the first ​high-level contact between Iran and all members of the three-nation bloc since Saudi Arabia came under escalating attacks from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis.

Field Marshal Asim Munir visited Tehran last week, where he met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials.

Pakistan has been a key intermediary between the United States and Iran.

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

Ministers from the Makkah Pact countries held an emergency meeting in Riyadh earlier this month and agreed to ensure ​the “rapid deployment” of military ​forces and capabilities in ⁠Saudi Arabia.

The Houthi attacks have become an increasingly destabilising element in the US-Israeli offensive against Iran, turning Saudi Arabia into a pressure point in the wider ​war.

Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in August, ​under which an ⁠armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all.

The agreement’s first article says the parties shall use “all necessary means” to eliminate threats to one another’s territorial integrity, sovereignty or internationally recognised borders, according to a ⁠text ​seen by Reuters.

Efforts by Turkey’s parliament to ratify the agreement began ​last week and are still underway, while Pakistan approved the pact last week.