Iran security chief meets Supreme Leader after talks with Mecca pact countries
DUBAI, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Iranian Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaei on Tuesday met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, not seen in public since succeeding his slain father in March, a day after holding talks with representatives of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. State media said Khamenei had stressed the importance of pursuing Iran's interests and maintaining its conditions for ending the war. Top officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan visited Tehran on Monday hoping to help de-escalate the Middle East conflict, begun when the US and Israel attacked Iran in February.
The talks were the first high-level contact between Iran and the three nations — which signed the Mecca mutual defence pact in August — since the war pulled Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi movement into direct conflict. Iran's state media said on Tuesday that "safeguarding national and regional security by maintaining control over the Strait of Hormuz and strengthening bilateral relations with neighbouring countries" were among the topics Khamenei and Rezaei had discussed.
An Iranian official told Reuters on Monday that there would be no discussion of Iran's nuclear programme at Monday's meeting with the Mecca pact countries, and the issue would not be addressed until Tehran's demands for ending the war were met. Iran rejects Western concerns that the programme is military in nature. Iran's conditions include an end to a US blockade of Iranian ports and US sanctions on Iranian oil exports. US Vice President JD Vance said three weeks ago that Iran must reduce nuclear enrichmentto end the war. (Reporting by Elwely Elwelly; Editing by Peter Graff and Kevin Liffey)
Left out here: Leaves out what changes the picture
The article speaks of Iran's conditions for 'ending the war' but never says that fighting between Iran and the US stopped after 40 days and that a memorandum of understanding was signed on June 18. Without it a reader may think the US and Iran are still trading strikes, when the talks concern a permanent settlement and the wider regional fronts.
How we know
- Al-Monitor wrote earlier“Despite a memorandum of understanding reached between Iran and the US on June 18 to end the war on all fronts, tensions have remained high.”Saudi Arabia’s KBS, top Turkish and Pakistani officials hold rare meeting in Iran: What to know (opens in a new tab)
- Press TV reported“The war came to a halt after 40 days with a ceasefire”Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia hold security meeting in Tehran (opens in a new tab)