OMM Newsroom
Iran said a “new and positive atmosphere” had emerged after security talks in Tehran with senior officials from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye. Tensions in the region continue to rise.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, made the remarks after talks with officials from the three founding countries of the Mecca Defense Pact, AnewZ reported.
Rezaei, Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Ibrahim Kalin, head of Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization, took part in the four-way meeting.
A joint statement issued after the meeting said the four countries had agreed to “continue discussions on strengthening cooperation, particularly in the areas of regional peace and security.”
Rezaei told Iran’s state news agency IRNA that participants agreed “security in West Asia should originate from within the region and any foreign intervention should be prevented.”
The talks followed efforts by Ankara, Islamabad and Riyadh to deepen defense cooperation. The tripartite agreement, known as the Mecca Pact, was signed in August amid growing regional security concerns.
Tehran has expressed interest in joining the pact and offered to help facilitate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis.
Meeting criticized in Iran
Despite the diplomatic optimism, the meeting drew criticism in Iran. Hossein Shariatmadari, editor-in-chief of Tehran-based Kayhan newspaper, questioned the participating countries’ intentions and whether the talks would serve Iran’s interests.
In an opinion piece published on Tuesday, he wrote that the Saudi government had been one of the United States’ partners in the 12-day war in 2025 and the Ramadan war in 2026. Shariatmadari argued that Türkiye is a NATO member, that NATO did not remain neutral during recent US and “Zionist regime” military attacks against Iran, and that Pakistan had closed its land borders with Iran at Washington’s direction.
Shariatmadari also questioned the three countries’ commitment to regional security and whether they had fundamentally changed their positions toward Tehran. “Have the three countries mentioned above turned their backs on the United States and the Zionist regime and joined Iran to ensure regional security? The definite condition for this is the withdrawal of the United States from the region.”
He wrote that the answer was no and that there were no signs to the contrary, questioning the real purpose of the countries’ participation in the Tehran meeting.
Shariatmadari, who was appointed by Iran’s supreme leader, described the delegations’ presence in Tehran as a sign of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s growing regional influence and the heavy defeat it had inflicted on the United States and the “Zionist regime.”
Commanders visit Strait of Hormuz
The diplomatic talks took place amid increased military activity around the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Armed Forces Chief of Staff, General Abdollahi, said on Monday during a visit to military bases along the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman coasts that Tehran maintained “overall control” of the strategic waterway.
Abdollahi visited the bases alongside senior commanders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the regular army. The visit came a day after Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, visited the strait.
The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, remains a major point of contention between Iran and the United States, complicating efforts to ease tensions between the two countries.
