Officials from Makkah pact countries to meet Iranian officials on Monday, two sources say

Officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Pakistan, members of the Makkah Pact, are scheduled to meet with Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday for discussions on regional security, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The Saudi Defense Minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, will represent Saudi Arabia, while Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, will represent Pakistan.

A Turkish intelligence chief will also attend the meeting. Iranian Deputy Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Bagheri Kani, confirmed that the Saudi, Pakistani, and Turkish representatives would visit Tehran to consult with Iran's Supreme National Security Council on regional security matters.

This would be the first high-level encounter between Iran and all three Makkah Pact countries since Saudi Arabia faced intensified attacks from Yemen's Houthis. Munir visited Tehran last week, where he met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials. Iranian officials informed him that discussions with Washington would not occur until Iran's demands were fulfilled, as reported by Iranian media.

Pakistan has historically served as a liaison between the United States and Iran. Previous mediation efforts resulted in an interim peace deal in June, but it was short-lived as tensions between Iran and the United States quickly escalated again. On Sunday, Saudi Arabia thwarted another round of missile and drone strikes from the Houthis as the conflict persisted. In an emergency session earlier this month, ministers from the Makkah Pact nations agreed to deploy military forces and capabilities rapidly within Saudi Arabia.

The Houthi assaults have become a destabilizing force in the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, transforming Saudi Arabia, an ally of the United States, into a pressure point in the broader conflict. Turkiye submitted Pakistan and Saudi Arabia's defense pact to parliament for approval, and while the process is ongoing in Turkiye, Pakistan has already ratified the agreement.