Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani Officials Meet Iran in Tehran as War Fears Linger

October 26, 2026 · Category: World News

For the first time since Saudi Arabia was pulled deeper into the Iran conflict, senior officials from all three Mecca Pact countries are meeting Iran's leaders in Tehran on Monday. Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin are attending, Saudi and Iranian officials told Reuters via Al-Monitor. Under the defense agreement the three countries signed in August, an armed attack on one member counts as an attack on all.

The meeting brings Tehran face to face with a bloc that includes the country under fire. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have increased their attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent weeks. Over the weekend, the Houthis said they hit pumping stations on the kingdom's East-West crude pipeline and Riyadh airport, and Saudi Arabia said it intercepted more missiles and drones, Reuters reported. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the agenda would include Israel's policies, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and the fallout from U.S. and Israeli military action against Iran. A senior Iranian official said Pakistan proposed the meeting during Munir's visit to Tehran last week.

The talks follow a weekend of separate diplomacy. Qatari mediators were in Tehran on Sunday, in what an official briefed on the matter called an effort coordinated with Washington, according to Iran International, citing Reuters. President Donald Trump told Fox News, "Do I make a deal with them or do I finish them off? That's the only question." Asked whether strikes could resume that day, he said, "There will not be a strike today." Baghaei said messages were still passing through intermediaries, but Iranian media reported that Tehran told Munir there would be no talks with Washington until its demands were met.

There is reason for caution. Mediation by Pakistan and Qatar produced an interim peace deal in June, but it fell apart within weeks when fighting between Iran and the United States resumed. Reuters reported that both sides have drawn up plans to restart the wider war, possibly after the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 3.

Markets took some relief from the diplomacy. Brent crude fell about 1.3% to around $115 a barrel early Monday after rising 6% last week. Analysts quoted by Reuters called the drop a position adjustment, not a real improvement in supply. International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol said he does not expect energy markets in 2027 to return to where they were before the war.

Why it matters

This is the first time Iran has met with all three members of a regional defense bloc whose largest member is being attacked by Iran's allies. Reuters reported that both Washington and Tehran have plans to resume fighting after Nov. 3. Whether these talks hold could affect Gulf security, shipping through Hormuz and global energy prices.

Sources

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