Iran to Host senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan for coordination talks

Senior representatives from the three nations that signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement are traveling to Tehran for a high-level discussion with Iranian officials on Monday. Saudi Arabia’s delegation will be led by Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan will be represented by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Turkey’s intelligence chief will also attend. This gathering is the first direct contact among all pact members since Saudi Arabia suffered a surge of missile and drone attacks from Yemen’s Houthi movement, which is aligned with Iran.

The participants intend to synchronize military and security measures to counter the destabilising spill-over of the broader US-Israeli campaign against Iran. An emergency summit in Riyadh earlier this month had already committed the three countries to rapid force deployment in Saudi Arabia. While Turkey’s parliament is still debating ratification of the pact, Pakistan has already given its approval.