Top security officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey are set to meet Iran’s leaders on Monday in an effort to defuse tensions and breathe new life into talks aimed at preventing a broader war in the Middle East.
Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan’s Army Chief Asim Munir and Turkish spymaster Ibrahim Kalin are set to hold talks with Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaee and President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran, the Islamic Republic’s capital.
The meeting comes about a week before the US midterm elections, after which President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested he could resume a bombing campaign of Iran after months of deadlock. Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, has gained steadily this month on fears of renewed fighting, and is trading at just under $115 a barrel in early London trading on Monday.
The trip marks the first official visit to Tehran in more than a year by the Saudi defense minister, who’s the brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and comes amid an escalation in Yemen’s civil war, where Riyadh and Tehran back opposing sides. Iran-aligned Houthi forces have fired missiles and drones at the kingdom in recent weeks, killing dozens and wounding hundreds.
The talks bring together members of the Mecca Defense Alliance – made up of Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan – in Tehran for the first time since the group’s establishment in August. Ankara and Islamabad have been wary of being drawn into Riyadh’s conflict with the Houthis, while Turkish officials have stressed that the alliance is defensive in nature.
“All three countries present at this meeting can, together with Iran, take an effective step toward establishing endogenous security,” Iran’s Deputy Secretary of Supreme National Security Council Ali Bagheri Kani told state TV.
The aim of the visit is to ensure a “de-escalation between parties involved in the ongoing crisis,” Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister for public diplomacy, Rayed Krimly, said in a post on X.
The visit is also aimed at supporting Qatar and Pakistan, Krimly said. The two nations are the main mediators in diplomatic efforts to end the eight-month war between the US and Iran.
The US State Department last week ordered the departure of some diplomats and families in Saudi Arabia, while adjusting staffing elsewhere in the Middle East. Washington has also sent additional forces, including a third aircraft carrier group, toward the Persian Gulf.
Iran is bracing for a fresh US bombing campaign around the Nov. 3 midterms and preparing to retaliate across the Middle East, including against Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bloomberg has reported.
That would put Saudi Arabia in a position of fighting dual fronts in the wider Middle East conflict; one with the Houthi rebels and one more directly with Iran.
Iranian officials have said the Houthis are an independent group that takes their own decisions. Riyadh argues the militants are trained, weaponized and supported by Iran.
Air-raid alerts were sounded on Monday morning in Riyadh after a heavy weekend of attacks by the Houthis across the kingdom.
Saudi-led forces said they conducted an operation against the Houthis overnight, in which the forces destroyed five missile storage tunnels and hit four missile launchers.
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