Saudi Arabia’s KBS, top Turkish and Pakistani officials hold rare meeting in Iran: What to know

Saudi Arabia dispatched Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman to lead its delegation for a high-level meeting between member states of the Mecca defense pact and Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday. Prince Khalid joined Pakistani army chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin for talks with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaie, with the aim of de-escalating regional tensions. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a Monday statement that the meeting was in line with the kingdom’s role in promoting regional and international dialogue and peace. Prince Khalid’s visit to Tehran is part of ongoing efforts by the Mecca Pact member states “to de-escalate the current crisis, promote dialogue and diplomatic solutions, and support the mediation efforts led by the State of Qatar and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” read the ministry's statement. Why it matters : Qatar and Pakistan have been leading mediation efforts between Iran and the United States since the war erupted in late February. A Qatari delegation was in Tehran on Sunday, Reuters reported, amid US and Israeli threats of renewed attacks against Iran. 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. Talks between the two parties have been deadlocked in disagreements over Iran’s nuclear program and the Strait of Hormuz, the critical waterway for global energy markets in the Gulf where Iranian attacks on commercial vessels continue. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told a press briefing on Monday that most pressing regional issues will be discussed during the meeting, including Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon as well as the implications of the US war on Iran and on the region’s security. He said the meeting with the top Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani officials is a “practical step” toward establishing regional security mechanisms based on shared interests. The meeting “could pave the way for further steps toward establishing an endogenous security framework, a goal we have consistently advocated for decades,” he said, adding that lasting stability in the Middle East can only be achieved by relying on the capabilities of the countries in the region. Background : The Tehran meeting marks the first high-level engagement between the parties since Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels escalated attacks on Saudi Arabia this month, prompting a Saudi-backed counteroffensive launched by the Yemeni government and allied groups on Oct. 5 to retake strategic territory near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that the Houthis seized in September. On Monday, the Houthi group claimed new attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting pumping stations along the kingdom’s East-West Pipeline and Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport. Saudi officials did not immediately confirm the claims. Separately, the Saudi-led coalition said Monday it destroyed several Houthi missile launchers and storage facilities and tunnels used to store ballistic missiles in Yemen. It did not specify the exact location of the targets. Know more : The escalating attacks have prompted Turkey to step up efforts to implement the Mecca agreement with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The Turkish Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee is scheduled to begin discussing the pact on Tuesday. Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the Mecca Pact on Aug. 7, which stipulates that an armed attack against one member is to be treated as an attack against all. During an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Oct. 5, the three countries agreed “to take the necessary measures to provide the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment in the kingdom.” Ankara has been stepping up regional and international coordination in response to intensifying Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. On Friday, Turkey hosted the Saudi, Pakistani, Egyptian, British, French, German and Italian foreign ministers in Istanbul. In a joint statement following the talks, the countries condemned the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. Following the international gathering, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also hosted his Yemeni counterpart, Afrah Abdulaziz al-Zouba, in Istanbul on Saturday. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry also condemned the Houthi missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia, including in the holy cities of Medina and Mecca, calling them “grave violations” of the kingdom’s sovereignty. The ministry reiterated Islamabad’s “unwavering solidarity” with Saudi Arabia under the Mecca agreement.