Mecca Pact officials head to Tehran as regional powers try diplomacy after violence
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Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan army chief Asim Munir and Turkey's intelligence chief will meet Iranian officials in Tehran to discuss coordination among the Mecca Pact members amid a security crisis fueled by regional militarization and attacks.
Top officials from the Mecca Pact countries Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are scheduled to travel to Tehran on Monday for consultations with Iranian authorities on regional security coordination. Saudi Arabia will be represented by Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Turkey by its head of intelligence, Ibrahim Kalin, according to sources familiar with the arrangements.
Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, confirmed on state television that the three officials would meet the council to discuss security matters. The Saudi government media office, Pakistan's military media wing and Turkey's foreign ministry have not responded to requests for comment.
The planned talks would mark the first high-level engagement between Iran and all three Mecca Pact members since Saudi Arabia faced intensified attacks by Yemen's Houthi forces, which are aligned with Iran. Earlier, Pakistan's chief visited Tehran and met President Masoud Pezeshkian, during which Iranian officials indicated they would not resume talks with Washington until their demands were satisfied.
The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, signed by the three nations in August, obliges each member to consider an armed attack on any one of them as an attack on all and to use "all necessary means" to protect each other's territorial integrity. Turkey's parliament has begun the ratification process, and Pakistan approved the pact last week.
The meeting follows an emergency gathering of Mecca Pact ministers in Riyadh, where they agreed on rapid deployment of military forces in Saudi Arabia amid ongoing Houthi missile and drone attacks.