Iran, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan have agreed to continue talks on regional peace and security after senior officials from all four countries met in Tehran, in the first joint meeting of its kind.

The meeting brought Iran together with the three members of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, the mutual defence pact signed by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan in August. Iranian state television described it as the first time senior officials from the four countries had sat down together in this format.

The talks were hosted by Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Saudi Arabia was represented by Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan by army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Türkiye by intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also took part in the meetings, according to Iranian state media.

Joint statement promises continued dialogue

In a joint statement issued after the meeting, the four states “agreed to continue the dialogue to strengthen cooperation amongst the four regional countries, including for peace and security in the region”, according to the Iranian state-owned Press TV.

Rezaei said the visit showed that United States “threats have little impact on countries around the world”, and spoke of a “new and positive atmosphere” in the region. He has previously said regional security should be ensured by regional countries without foreign intervention.

Rayed Krimly, Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister for public diplomacy, said the visit was part of the continued efforts by the Mecca pact allies “for de-escalation between parties involved in the ongoing crisis and promoting dialogue and diplomatic solutions in support of the mediation efforts carried out” by Qatar and Pakistan.

Nonaggression network and Hormuz on the agenda

A senior Pakistani security official told the Reuters 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 Reuters 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 official did not give details of the proposal, but said the Mecca pact states, along with Qatar, could act as guarantors if it was accepted.

Pakistan has been a key intermediary between Washington and Tehran since the US and Israel launched the war in February. Earlier mediation efforts helped produce an interim agreement in June, but that deal quickly unravelled as fighting resumed weeks later.

Why the meeting matters now

The talks were the first high-level contact between Iran and the three pact members since Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi armed group escalated attacks on Saudi Arabia last month, opening a new front in the wider conflict and deepening the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

Under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all. The agreement’s first article says the parties shall use “all necessary means” to eliminate threats to one another’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and internationally recognised borders.

Ministers from the pact countries held an emergency meeting in Riyadh earlier this month and agreed to ensure the “rapid deployment” of military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia. Efforts by Türkiye’s parliament to ratify the agreement began last week and are still under way, while Pakistan approved the pact last week.

No date for a second meeting of the four countries was announced, and no new defence commitment was made. The only commitment all four governments put their names to was to keep talking.