Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani Chiefs Fly to Tehran Today
Defence and intelligence chiefs from the three Mecca pact states travel to Tehran today for a joint meeting, confirmed by both Saudi and Iranian officials. It is the first high-level contact between Iran and all three members since the Houthis escalated attacks on Saudi Arabia last month. Riyadh frames the visit as de-escalation and support for mediation.
The named travellers give the measure of it: Saudi Arabia’s defence minister, Pakistan’s military chief and Turkey’s intelligence chief, meeting an Iranian delegation led by the secretary of the supreme national security council. The pact they represent was signed in August and treats an armed attack on one member as an attack on all, its first article committing the parties to “all necessary means”; Pakistan ratified it last week and Turkey’s parliament has begun and not finished doing so. Two things make the trip awkward. Pakistan’s military chief was in Tehran only last week and was told there would be no talks with Washington until Iran’s demands were met — and Pakistan has been the main channel between the two since February, having brokered a June agreement that collapsed within weeks. Meanwhile the alliance is arming against Iran’s closest regional ally: an emergency meeting in Riyadh this month agreed the “rapid deployment” of forces to Saudi Arabia, and Saudi air defences intercepted another wave of missiles and drones on Sunday. Watch whether anything is published afterwards, or whether the meeting is the message.