Saudi Arabia, Iran, Türkiye and Pakistan Agree to Continue Talks

Saudi Arabia, Iran, Türkiye and Pakistan agreed to keep talking about cooperation, including on peace and security in the region, according to a joint statement issued late on Monday.

The talks took place in Tehran that day. They were the first high-level contact between Iran and the three other countries since they signed the Mecca mutual defence pact in August. Under that kind of agreement, the signatories commit to defend one another if attacked.

Each country sent senior officials. Saudi Arabia's delegation was led by its defence minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, a younger brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Pakistan sent its army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Türkiye sent its intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin. On the Iranian side, President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, took part.

Saudi Arabia said the visit was meant to open negotiating channels to prevent a return to military escalation. Iran's security chief described the talks with Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye as "very good", according to Arab News.

The meeting came as Saudi Arabia faced attacks from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis. The Houthis said they had attacked Saudi Arabia's east-west oil pumping stations, a claim reported by Reuters. Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki said three Houthi ballistic missiles aimed at Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province were intercepted and caused no casualties. He also said four drones heading towards the kingdom's south were shot down.

Türkiye has been supplying Saudi Arabia with mainly defensive and technical support to help it fight the Houthis, Reuters reported earlier this month.

The violence continued on Monday evening. The Saudi-led coalition said it had shot down three more drones over Riyadh and southern Saudi Arabia.