A four-nation security meeting bringing together Iran and the three Makkah defence pact countries, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, got under way in Tehran on Monday, October 26. Pakistan is represented by Chief of Defence Forces and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. The ISPR confirmed that Field Marshal Munir is in Tehran on an official visit.
According to sources, Major General Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, welcomed the delegations. Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin are taking part, alongside Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Iranian officials said the talks focus on regional security, the fallout from US and Israeli military action against Iran, and the situation in Palestine and Lebanon. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the meeting, proposed by Munir during his visit to Tehran last week, could be a first step towards security arrangements built on the interests of the region's own countries.
It is the first high-level contact between Iran and all three members of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, signed in August, under which an armed attack on one member is treated as an attack on all. Saudi Arabia has been drawn deeper into the conflict in recent weeks by escalating Houthi attacks from Yemen.
Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly said the visit was part of efforts to de-escalate the crisis, promote diplomatic solutions and support mediation led by Qatar and Pakistan. Pakistani and Qatari mediation helped produce an interim Iran-US agreement in June, but it unravelled within weeks when fighting resumed.