CDF Munir, Saudi, Turkish officials to visit Tehran for talks today, says Iranian official

Iran’s deputy security official Ali Bagheri Kani has said that senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye will visit Tehran on Monday for talks on regional security, as tensions escalate across the Middle East.

The officials are expected to discuss regional coordination with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, according to Bagheri Kani, who spoke to Iranian state television.

The delegation will include Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and Turkiye’s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin.

Two people with knowledge of the matter also confirmed to Reuters that senior officials from the three countries, which signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, were scheduled to meet Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday.

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

First high-level contact since Houthi attacks

The planned talks would mark the first high-level contact between Iran and all three members of the bloc since Saudi Arabia came under escalating attacks from Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement, according to Reuters.

Munir visited Tehran last week, where he met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials. Iranian officials told him during the visit that Tehran would not hold talks with Washington until its demands were met, according to Iranian media.

Pakistan has played a key intermediary role 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.

Saudi Arabia intercepted another wave of missiles and drones on Sunday as fighting involving the Houthis continued.

Makkah defence pact in focus

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

The Houthi attacks have added to regional instability amid the US-Israeli offensive against Iran, turning US ally Saudi Arabia into a pressure point in the wider conflict, Reuters reported.

Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement in August. Under the pact, an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all.

The agreement’s first article states that 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.

Turkiye’s parliament began efforts to ratify the agreement last week, and the process is ongoing. Pakistan approved the pact last week.