Tehran(National Times)- Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday called for \u201cregional unity\u201d at a meeting in Tehran with representatives of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, which recently signed the Makkah defence pact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI hope that the presence of representatives of important and influential Islamic countries at this meeting will help further consolidate regional unity and cohesion,\u201d Pezeshkian said, according to a statement shared on the presidential website, urging Islamic countries to \u201cstand together and adopt a coordinated position\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the start of the meeting, Iran\u2019s state broadcaster reported the meeting was bringing together Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye to discuss \u201cregional cooperation, the US-Israeli aggression against Iran and its consequences\u201d, among other topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran\u2019s IRIB state broadcaster earlier shared a video of the meeting, saying the quadrilateral meeting on \u201cregional security and stability\u201d had begun. The video showed Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi sitting with Iran\u2019s president, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and security chief Mohsen Rezaei.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier in the day, Inter-Services Public Relations had confirmed that CDF Munir was visiting Tehran, but did not share any further details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The talks also included Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Turkiye\u2019s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
State-run PressTV also shared pictures of the meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iranian state television later reported that the four countries agreed to continue talks after a \u201cfirst\u201d meeting in Tehran. It said they \u201cagreed to continue discussions to strengthen cooperation\u2026 including on regional peace and security\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Endogenous security\u2019
Earlier, Iran\u2019s state-run IRNA news agency quoted the deputy secretary of Iran\u2019s top security body, Ali Bagheri Kani, as saying that the visit was part of efforts to implement the idea of endogenous security in West Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran\u2019s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baqaei, said during a media briefing that the meeting with officials from the three countries would cover \u201cmost pressing issues threatening our region\u201d, which included Israel\u2019s expansionist policies, developments in Palestine and Lebanon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that the topic of \u201ctop priority on the agenda would be consequences of the US-Israeli aggression against Iran and its ramifications for the entire region\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
IRNA further quoted him as saying that this meeting could be a prelude to further steps towards shaping \u201cendogenous security \u2014 an issue that we have been insisting on for decades\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe emphasise that regional security will not be ensured except by relying on the \u2026 security considerations of the countries of the region,\u201d he said, adding that events of the last two years, especially the past eight months, had shown that sustainable and reliable security would only be made possible by \u201cbuilding trust and cooperation among the countries in the region\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly had also confirmed the visit in a post on X. Krimly described the visit as \u201cpart of the continued efforts by the Makkah Defence Alliance members 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\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe visit underscores the pivotal role of Makkah Defence Alliance members in reinforcing regional security and stability, and working with all countries in the region to achieve that goal,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The visit comes as attacks by Houthis have spiralled over recent weeks and rhetoric between Washington and Tehran has grown more heated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Monday\u2019s planned talks would be the first high-level contact between Iran and all members of the Makkah Defence Alliance since Saudi Arabia was drawn deeper into the conflict. Under the Makkah pact, signed in August, an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CDF Munir had visited Iran last week. During the visit, Iranian leaders had conveyed that the US must take the first steps to rebuild trust, and that the acceptance of Tehran\u2019s seven-point proposal could provide a starting point for renewed negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Iran\u2019s ISNA news agency, Baqaei said during the media briefing that the suggestion for the meeting was made during CDF Munir\u2019s visit to Tehran last week. Tehran reviewed the proposal \u201cfavourably \u2026 and it is scheduled to be held today\u201d, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
War has engulfed the Middle East since late February when the US and Israel launched a wave of surprise attacks on Iran, just as Washington and Tehran were in the middle of negotiations on Iran\u2019s nuclear programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An April ceasefire brought an end to the initial phase of intense bombardment but the two sides have continued to vie for control of the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of the world\u2019s oil and liquefied natural gas used to travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran claims control over the strait and regularly targets vessels that attempt to cross without its authorisation, while the United States has imposed a naval counter-blockade on Iranian ports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis remain stalled, especially since the collapse of a June deal which laid out a pathway to a permanent settlement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The war has since spread across the region to include fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tehran(National Times)- Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Monday called for \u201cregional unity\u201d at a meeting in Tehran with representatives of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, which recently signed the Makkah defence pact. \u201cI hope that the presence of representatives of important and influential Islamic countries at this meeting will help further consolidate regional unity and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-135440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n