Mecca Pact officials meet Iranian counterparts in Tehran today for talks on regional coordination
Tehran: Senior officials from the three countries behind the Mecca defence agreement are meeting Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday, in what sources describe as a consultation on regional coordination and security. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan will each be represented at the highest level, according to Reuters, which cited two people familiar with the matter.
Saudi Arabia’s delegation will be led by Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, while Pakistan will be represented by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. Turkey’s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin, will join the talks. On the Iranian side, the consultations are with the Supreme National Security Council; its deputy secretary, Ali Bagheri Kani, told state television that the three countries’ officials would hold talks with the council.
A first joint contact, at a tense moment
The timing is what gives the meeting its weight. Reuters notes it would be the first high-level contact between Iran and all three members of the bloc since attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on Saudi Arabia escalated. Saudi Arabia intercepted another wave of missiles and drones on Sunday, and the fighting has kept regional tensions running high.
The three countries signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in August, under which an armed attack on one member is treated as an attack on all three. Earlier this month, ministers from the three countries held an emergency meeting in Riyadh and agreed on the rapid deployment of military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia. Pakistan approved the pact last week, while efforts to ratify it in Turkey’s parliament began last week and are still under way.
The backdrop: last week’s Tehran visit
Field Marshal Munir was in Tehran only last week, meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials. According to Iranian media, Iranian officials told him during that visit that talks with Washington would not take place until Tehran’s demands were met.
Reuters sought comment from the Saudi government media office, Pakistan’s military media wing and Turkey’s foreign ministry; none responded immediately. Whatever comes out of Monday’s meeting will be watched closely across the region, because it will signal the direction of contact between the Mecca Pact countries and Iran from here on.
