Officials from Makkah pact countries to meet Iranian officials in Tehran

CDF Munir in Tehran as Makkah pact officials to meet Iran leadership in first joint contact between countries

Top officials from Makkah Pact countries ​Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are to meet Iran's leaders in Tehran on Monday in their first high-level contact since the kingdom became a pressure point in ‌the wider Iran conflict.

Saudi Arabia will be represented by Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan by Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Turkiye by intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, Saudi and Iranian officials said.

Attacks by Yemen's Houthis have spiralled in recent weeks, and rhetoric between Washington and Tehran has grown more heated. Both countries have also drawn up plans to restart the wider war, possibly after the US midterm elections on November ​3.

Monday's planned talks will be the first high-level contact between Iran and all members of the three-nation bloc since Saudi Arabia was drawn deeper into the conflict. Under the Makkah ​Joint Defence Agreement signed in August, an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei ⁠said on Monday that discussions on regional security would include "Israel’s expansionist policies, developments in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, and the repercussions of US and Israeli military action against Iran."

Also Read: Houthis say they attacked East-West oil pumping stations; no Saudi confirmation

Baghaei said the meeting, ​proposed during a visit by Munir to Tehran last week, could be a first step towards establishing regional security mechanisms based on the interests of countries in the region.

Qatari mediators met Iranian officials ​in Tehran on Sunday in a push to de-escalate regional tensions, Reuters reported. Qatar has, for months, played a mediating role between Tehran and Washington.

A senior Iranian official said the meeting was initiated by Pakistan during CDF Munir's visit to Tehran, as he met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials. During the visit, Iranian officials told him there would be no talks with Washington until Tehran's demands were met, according to Iranian media.

Earlier ​mediation efforts involving both Pakistan and Qatar helped produce an interim peace agreement in June, but the deal quickly unravelled as fighting between Iran and the United States resumed weeks later.

The ​deputy secretary of Iran's top security body, Ali Baqeri-Kani, told state TV that Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid, Pakistan's Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin would visit Tehran for consultations with Iran’s Supreme National Security ‌Council on ⁠regional security.

Ali Bagheri, Deputy Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, announced that senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey will travel to Tehran as part of efforts to implement the idea of endogenous security in West Asia. pic.twitter.com/XU0ByEdsJv

— IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) October 26, 2026

Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly said the meeting is part of ongoing efforts by the Makkah Pact countries to de-escalate the current crisis, promote diplomatic solutions, and support mediation efforts led by Qatar and Pakistan.

"The visit also underscores the pivotal role of the Makkah Pact states in fostering regional security and stability, and their commitment to working with all nations in the region toward achieving this goal," Krimly posted on X.

يرأس صاحب السمو الملكي الأمير خالد بن سلمان بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود، وزير الدفاع، وفد المملكة للاجتماعات التي تستضيفها العاصمة الإيرانية طهران اليوم بين دول اتفاقية مكة للدفاع المشترك مع المسؤولين من الجمهورية الإسلامية الإيرانية.

وذلك بمشاركة المشير/ عاصم منير، رئيس أركان الجيش…

— AMB Dr. Rayed Krimly (@Rayedkrimly) October 26, 2026

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Monday that CDF Munir is in Tehran today on an official visit.

Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, NI (M), HJ, Chief of the Army Staff & Chief of Defence Forces (COAS & CDF) is visiting Tehran, Iran for an official visit.

— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) October 26, 2026

Tensions rising

Saudi Arabia intercepted another wave of missiles and ​drones on Sunday as fighting with the Houthis ​continued unabated.

Ministers from the Makkah Pact countries ⁠held an emergency meeting in Riyadh earlier this month and agreed to ensure the "rapid deployment" of military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia.

The Houthi attacks have become an increasingly destabilising element in the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, turning US ally Saudi Arabia into a pressure point in the wider ​war.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have sharpened in recent days. President Donald Trump said on Friday the US may carry out another ​military operation against Iran and ⁠Iran's leaders have said that a renewed US military campaign would be met with a stronger response than before.

Iranian security officials have told Reuters that Tehran has drawn up detailed plans to hit Gulf undersea cables if the United States and Israel attack again. A US intelligence memo this week warned that Iranian plots against American personnel had reached "advanced stages".

The war, now nearly eight months old, has weighed ⁠on US President Donald ​Trump's approval ratings ahead of the midterms.

The Makkah agreement's first article says the parties shall use "all necessary means" to ​eliminate threats to one another's territorial integrity, sovereignty or internationally recognised borders, according to a text seen by Reuters.

Efforts by Turkey’s parliament to ratify the agreement began last week and are still underway, while Pakistan approved the pact last ​week.