Three Nations to Meet Iran Monday After Saudi Intercepts Houthi Fire
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan will send senior officials to Tehran as Riyadh faces continued missile and drone attacks from Yemen's Houthis.
By Kevin Iyer ·
Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani officials are due in Tehran on Monday for talks with Iranian counterparts.
Two people familiar with the matter said Saudi Arabia will send Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Pakistan will be represented by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir. One of them said Turkey's head of intelligence will also attend. Reuters said it sought comment from the Saudi government media office and Pakistan's military media wing, and neither had replied.
The meeting would mark the first high-level contact between Iran and all three Mecca Pact members since Saudi Arabia began facing stepped-up attacks from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis. Saudi forces intercepted a wave of missiles and drones on Sunday, and fighting with the group has continued without letup. Earlier this month, ministers from the three countries met in Riyadh and agreed to speed the deployment of military forces and capabilities to Saudi Arabia. The conflict has added instability to the US-Israeli offensive against Iran, with Saudi Arabia, a US ally, positioned as a pressure point in the wider war.
The three countries signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement in August, which treats an armed attack on one member as an attack on all. A text seen by Reuters says the first article commits the parties to use "all necessary means" to eliminate threats to another member's territorial integrity, sovereignty or internationally recognized borders.
The pact has not taken full effect across the bloc. Pakistan approved the agreement last week, while Turkey's parliament began ratification efforts last week and those efforts are still underway.
