Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkiye and Pakistan have agreed to continue talks for regional “peace and security” as the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said it had intercepted another barrage of missiles and drones fired by the Houthis at the kingdom. The talks in Tehran on Monday were the first high-level contact between Iran and the three nations – which signed the Mecca mutual defence pact in August – since a war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran also spread to Saudi Arabia and Yemen. In a joint statement issued late on Monday, the four countries “agreed to continue the dialogue to strengthen cooperation amongst the four regional countries, including for peace and security in the region”, according to Iranian state media.
Early on Tuesday, coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said three ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis aimed at Saudi Arabia’s Eastern province had been intercepted. There were no casualties. Four drones headed towards the kingdom’s south were also shot down, he said.
The coalition said it had downed three more drones over Riyadh and southern Saudi Arabia on Monday evening. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis. Saudi Arabia said the visit to Tehran was meant to open negotiating channels to “prevent the return of military escalation”.
The kingdom sent Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud, a younger brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Pakistan sent its army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Turkiye sent its intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin. Iranian state media published pictures of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, attending the meetings.
A senior Pakistani security official told the news agency that the talks focused on building a regional nonaggression network. The official said the agenda also covered negotiations between the United States and Iran, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, the Strait of Hormuz and the US blockade of Iranian ports. Another Pakistani official told that Munir, with US President Donald Trump’s blessing to pursue diplomacy, had presented Iran with a proposal that would offer something to both Washington and Tehran.
The agency said the official did not give details. The states in the Mecca pact, along with Qatar, could act as guarantors if the proposal was accepted, the official said. Rezaei, the Iranian security chief, meanwhile said the visit showed that US “threats have little impact on countries around the world”.
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