ISTANBUL, OCT 26: Member states of the Mecca Defense Alliance will meet with Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday, aiming to de-escalate tensions, a Saudi Foreign Ministry official said.
Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman is leading the Kingdom’s delegation to participate in the meeting between joined by Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir and Director of the Turkish National Intelligence Ibrahim Kalin, Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy at the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry, Rayed Krimly, said in a post on X.
The three representatives of the Mecca pact are expected to meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Mohsen Rezaei, Krimly added.
“The visit comes as part of the continued efforts by the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement countries for de-escalation between parties involved in the ongoing crisis, and promoting dialogue and diplomatic solutions, in support of the mediation efforts carried out” by Qatar and Pakistan, Krimly said.
“The visit underscores the pivotal role of Mecca Joint Defense Agreement countries in reinforcing regional security and stability, and working with all countries in the region to achieve that goal.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil 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.
Monday’s planned talks would be the first high-level contact between Iran and all members of the three-nation bloc.
Under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement signed in August, an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
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 key mediating role between Tehran and Washington.
Earlier mediation efforts involving both Pakistan and Qatar helped produce an interim peace agreement in June, but the deal quickly unraveled as fighting between Iran and the United States resumed weeks later.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have sharpened in recent days. President Donald Trump said on Friday the US may carry out another military operation against Iran and Iran’s leaders have said that a renewed US military campaign would be met with a stronger response than before.
Iranian security officials have told Reuters that Tehran has drawn up detailed plans to hit Gulf undersea cables if the United States and Israel attack again. A US intelligence memo this week warned that Iranian plots against American personnel had reached “advanced stages.”
The war, now nearly eight months old, has weighed on Trump’s approval ratings ahead of the midterms.
The Mecca agreement’s first article says the parties shall use “all necessary means” to eliminate threats to one another’s territorial integrity, sovereignty or internationally recognized borders, according to a text seen by Reuters.
