KABUL (Pajhwok): Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are scheduled to meet Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday to discuss regional security and coordination, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, will attend the talks, while Turkey will be represented by intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Iran’s deputy secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Bagheri Kani, told state television.
The officials are expected to hold consultations with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on regional security.
The Saudi government’s media office, Pakistan’s military media wing and Turkey’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters reported.
The planned meeting would mark the first high-level contact between Iran and all three members of the bloc since Saudi Arabia came under escalating attacks by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis.
Munir visited Tehran last week, where he met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials. Iranian officials told him that talks with Washington would not take place until Tehran’s demands were met, according to Iranian media.
Saudi Arabia intercepted another wave of missiles and drones on Sunday as fighting with the Houthiscontinued.
Earlier this month, ministers from the three countries held an emergency meeting in Riyadh and agreed to ensure the “rapid deployment” of military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia.
The Houthi attacks have added to regional tensions amid the US-Israeli offensive against Iran, with Saudi Arabia, a US ally, becoming a pressure point in the wider conflict.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in August. Under the agreement, an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all three.
The agreement states that the parties will use “all necessary means” to address threats to one another’s territorial integrity, sovereignty or internationally recognised borders, according to a text seen by Reuters.
Turkey’s parliament began the ratification process last week, which remains underway, while Pakistan approved the agreement last week.
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