Why Are Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish Chiefs in Tehran?

On Monday, 26 October, Saudi Arabia’s defence minister, Pakistan’s army chief and a Turkish intelligence chief were due in Tehran for talks on regional security. Reuters reported, citing two people with knowledge of the matter, that Prince Khalid bin Salman and Field Marshal Asim Munir would attend, with a Turkish intelligence chief also joining. Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish officials did not immediately comment.

The trip follows by one day a Fox News interview in which Donald Trump said he had a choice to make on Iran. It also follows three weeks in which the same three governments activated the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement against the Houthis, whom Iran backs.

At the time of writing no outcome of the Tehran meeting had been reported.

The three governments that triggered their defence pact on 5 October over Houthi attacks are sending senior figures to Tehran. Trump told Fox News on Sunday that he must choose between a deal and finishing Iran off. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said within hours that diplomacy remains open, and its parliament speaker warned of an \”unimaginable response\” to any attack.

On Sunday 25 October, Trump spoke to Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” In the interview, as Bloomberg reported, he said it was “getting to be decision time.” He framed the choice this way: “I have a decision to make: Do I finish it off, which would be very easy to do, or do I make a deal? That’s all.” He added: “We don’t play games.” Bloomberg noted that Trump has suggested strikes could resume after the 3 November midterm elections and has sent more forces, including a third aircraft carrier group, toward the Persian Gulf.

Iranian replies came overnight, as Iran International’s live blog recorded them. At 02:24 GMT on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said diplomacy remains open and messages are passing through mediators, and that Washington appears to be insisting on “unilateral demands.” On the Strait of Hormuz he said: “The Strait of Hormuz is not safe,” and blamed the United States and Israel. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said any attack on Iran’s territorial integrity would draw an “unimaginable response,” according to the same live blog. At 06:12 the lawmaker Ruhollah Lak-Aliabadi warned regional countries that helping the United States and Israel attack Iran would carry a cost.

On the visit itself, Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said at 05:43 that its first aim was to “congratulate Major General Rezaei on assuming this important responsibility.” The second aim, he said, was consultation on regional security. He added that Tehran regards American and Israeli involvement as a source of instability. Reuters reported that he told state television the visitors would consult the council.

Reuters added that Munir was in Tehran the week before. Iranian officials told him, according to Iranian media cited by Reuters, that there would be no talks with Washington until Tehran’s demands were met. The agency also reported that an interim peace deal in June quickly unravelled as fighting resumed, and that Saudi Arabia intercepted another wave of Houthi missiles and drones on Sunday.

The dates carry the argument. On 5 October the pact’s committee promised, in Khalid bin Salman’s words, “collective deterrence measures” against those responsible for the Houthi attacks. On 22 October the Houthis claimed a strike on Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry in Riyadh. On Sunday Reuters reported another wave of Houthi missiles and drones intercepted over the kingdom. On Monday the minister who made the 5 October pledge is due in Tehran.

Iran’s description of the visit is brief. Bagheri Kani named a congratulation to Rezaei and a consultation on regional security, and he named the United States and Israel as the source of instability. The Houthis do not appear in the account of his remarks that Reuters and Iran International carried.

Trump’s sentence and Munir’s visit the week before point the same way. Trump offered a deal or an attack. Iranian officials told Munir there would be no talks with Washington until their demands were met, and on Monday Baghaei said Washington was still insisting on “unilateral demands.” Reuters calls Pakistan a key intermediary. Saudi and Turkish officials now sit beside its army chief in the room.

Two Iranian warnings are aimed at the same three capitals. Lak-Aliabadi said on Monday that helping the United States and Israel attack Iran would carry a cost. Heiran-Nia told Al Jazeera on 6 October that Pakistani offensive operations against the Houthis would cross a red line for Iran. Tehran is receiving the visitors with both statements on the record.

The first marker is the Tehran communique, if one is issued. Wording that names the Houthis, Hormuz or Saudi air defence would show what the visitors asked for. Wording limited to “regional security” would match Bagheri Kani’s framing.

The second is Turkey’s parliament, which is still ratifying the agreement. The third is 3 November, the date Bloomberg links to a possible resumption of US strikes. A Trump decision after the vote leaves the Tehran talks about a week.

The pact now has two instruments in use: deterrence in Riyadh and talks in Tehran. If the Houthi missiles keep coming, the first meeting to read is the next one of the pact’s own committee.

The Iran-US talks tracker follows the wider negotiation day by day.