Mecca Pact Signatories Meet Iran’s Leaders As Houthis Target Saudi Arabia

Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sent senior officials to Tehran on Monday to pursue de-escalation with Iran, bringing the three signatories of the Mecca defense pact into direct talks with a country at the center of the regional war.

The visit marked their first high-level engagement with Tehran since the conflict, triggered by U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, extended to Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Riyadh said the aim was to establish negotiating channels to “prevent the return of military escalation.”

Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin represented the delegation, Saudi and Iranian officials told Reuters.

Iranian state media showed President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei at the meetings.

The four countries agreed to maintain discussions on cooperation, particularly peace and security, state media reported.

Regional Security Framework

The agenda extended beyond an immediate halt to fighting. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the initiative could begin a process toward regional security arrangements.

A senior Pakistani security official described the objective as developing a regional non-aggression network.

Discussions also covered U.S.-Iran negotiations, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, passage through the Strait of Hormuz and Washington’s blockade of Iranian ports.

Baghaei said the meeting had been proposed during Munir’s visit to Tehran last week.

Pakistan and Qatar have been leading mediation efforts, with Qatari representatives visiting the Iranian capital on Sunday.

Another Pakistani official said Munir had presented a proposed settlement after receiving President Donald Trump’s backing to pursue diplomacy.

The official gave no details but said the proposal offered concessions to both Washington and Tehran.

The Mecca pact signatories and Qatar could guarantee an agreement if the parties accepted it, the official added.

Nuclear Dispute Remains

Iran’s nuclear program was excluded from Monday’s agenda, an Iranian official said ahead of the talks.

Tehran would address it only after its conditions for ending the war were met, including removal of the port blockade and sanctions on Iranian oil exports.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance has said Iran must reduce nuclear enrichment to bring the conflict to an end.

An interim agreement reached through earlier mediation in June failed to prevent renewed U.S.-Iran fighting.

Trump said on Friday that Washington could launch another military operation, while Iranian security officials told Reuters that Tehran had prepared plans to strike Gulf undersea cables if attacked again.

The conflict has disrupted Hormuz shipping, increased global energy prices and exposed Gulf countries to missile and drone strikes.

Saudi Defense Support Expands

The Tehran talks coincided with fresh Houthi claims of attacks on Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline pumping stations and Riyadh airport. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the claims.

Riyadh has stepped up strikes on the Houthis since their capture of strategic territory along Yemen’s Red Sea coast last month.

Egypt’s parliament on Monday authorized military assistance to defend Saudi Arabia. Cairo has also said it is considering joining the Mecca pact.

Signed in August, the agreement commits its participants to use “all necessary means” against threats to one another’s sovereignty, territorial integrity or internationally recognized borders, according to a text seen by Reuters.

An emergency meeting in Riyadh this month backed the “rapid deployment” of forces and military capabilities to Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan approved the pact last week; ratification proceedings in Türkiye’s parliament remain under way.