By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Türkiye's intelligence chief joined senior Saudi and Pakistani officials in Tehran on October 26 for talks aimed at easing tensions with Iran. The visit came a day before a Turkish parliamentary committee was due to review the three countries' Mecca Joint Defence Agreement.
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief İbrahim Kalın were identified as participants by Saudi and Iranian officials. Turkish security sources separately confirmed Kalın's participation to Anadolu Agency.
Riyadh Cites Mediation as Tehran Outlines Agenda
Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly said the delegation was due to meet Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. The aim, he said, was to ease tensions and support mediation by Qatar and Pakistan.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the agenda was not final. He cited Israeli policies, developments in Palestine and Lebanon, and the effects of US and Israeli military action against Iran. Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said plans for the meeting had been raised during Munir's visit to Tehran the previous week. He called for security arrangements led by regional countries.
Pakistan and Qatar had helped broker a June arrangement intended to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume talks between Tehran and Washington. It collapsed after fighting resumed. No joint outcome from Monday's talks had been announced.
Riyadh Meeting Set Out Deployment Measures
Saudi Arabia has faced further missile and drone attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement. The Turkish and Saudi foreign ministers discussed the attacks in an October 19 call. Tehran denied Saudi allegations that it was encouraging the group.
At an emergency meeting in Riyadh on October 5, the three signatories approved steps for rapid deployment of agreed forces and capabilities to Saudi Arabia. Their statement gave no unit numbers, deployment date or command structure. Implementation would follow each country's laws.
Turkish Committee to Review Pact on October 27
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement on August 7. The pact treats an armed attack on one member as an attack on all three.
A bill seeking approval of the treaty, numbered 2/3961, reached the Turkish Grand National Assembly on October 21. Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Fuat Oktay said the panel would examine it on October 27. Sending Turkish troops abroad would require separate parliamentary authorization.
Iran is not a signatory. Neither Riyadh nor Tehran has announced talks about extending the pact's membership.
Sources: Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Iranian Foreign Ministry, Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkish security sources, Turkish Grand National Assembly, Anadolu Agency, Reuters, Associated Press, Bosphorus News review and reporting.