TEHRAN (The Thursday Times) — Talks between Iran and the three Makkah Pact countries got under way in Tehran on Monday afternoon, with Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Field Marshal Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin meeting Iran’s leadership in a bid to head off a return to war in the region, Iranian state media reported.
Munir arrived in the Iranian capital in the early afternoon, state broadcaster IRIB reported, and Mehr News Agency said the Pakistani and Turkish security chiefs had both reached Tehran before the four-way meeting began. Prince Khalid is leading the delegation, which was due to meet President Masoud Pezeshkian and Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. As The Thursday Times reported earlier on Monday, a senior Iranian official told Reuters the meeting was initiated by Pakistan during Munir’s visit to Tehran last week.
No readout of the talks had been released by Monday evening.
Riyadh: “prevent a renewed military escalation”
In a statement on Monday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the visit aimed “to encourage dialogue and diplomatic solutions” and stressed the need to open “channels of negotiation to prevent a renewed military escalation in the region.” It said the visit supported the mediation efforts of Qatar and Pakistan and reaffirmed “the pivotal role of the Makkah Agreement countries in maintaining security and stability.”
An unnamed source in Tehran told The National that Prince Khalid was representing both King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with “a clear mandate”, and that Riyadh sees Iran as key to ending the war in Yemen. The talks are the first direct engagement between senior officials of the pact countries and Iran since the agreement was signed in August.
Tehran: “a key development”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei called the meeting “a key development in shaping regional diplomacy” and said it “serves as a practical step towards deliberation and co-operation on regional security mechanisms,” The National reported. He told reporters the talks concerned “shared regional security interests,” according to Press TV.
Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said the visitors had come to consult Rezaei on regional security, and that the countries taking part could, together with Iran, take “an effective step toward creating endogenous security” in the region, Mehr reported. He said Munir had announced the joint visit after meeting Rezaei in Tehran last week.
Pakistan and Qatar’s channel
The meeting comes as Pakistan and Qatar keep open the only working line between Tehran and Washington. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said indirect talks with the United States continue through the two countries, The National reported, and a Qatari delegation was in Tehran on Sunday.
Pressure for a breakthrough is mounting. The United States has withdrawn non-emergency staff and their families from Saudi Arabia, and President Donald Trump has said it is “getting to be decision time” on either a deal with Iran or a return to conflict, Semafor reported. Trump has said he will not order strikes before the November 3 midterm elections.
Houthi attacks on the kingdom
The talks are the first high-level contact between Iran and Saudi Arabia since Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis escalated their attacks on Saudi targets last month, including deadly strikes on airports that disrupted air travel and forced the cancellation of events in the kingdom. Earlier this month the pact’s committee agreed to activate collective deterrence measures in response to the attacks.
Markets reacted cautiously as the meeting began, with Brent crude slipping to $114.82 a barrel, according to The New Arab. In Cairo, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for “maximum restraint and diplomatic solutions” and for navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab to be restored.
