Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan traveled to Iran on Monday to negotiate an end to Houthi attacks and seek a broader path toward ending the wider war.
The discussions mark the first high-level contact between Tehran and the alliance responsible for defending Saudi Arabia, home to the holy city of Mecca.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said the talks are intended to help prevent a return to full-scale war between the US and Iran. The conflict has already drawn the kingdom back into Yemen’s devastating civil war.
Oil futures edged lower Monday as investors held out hope that the negotiations could lead to a renewed agreement.
The talks are expected to lay the groundwork for a new regional security framework involving Tehran and the Mecca Defense Alliance, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters. The group is backed by Pakistan’s nuclear capability and Saudi Arabia’s substantial financial resources.
“We have consistently emphasized that regional security can only be ensured by relying on the will and security considerations of the countries of the region,” Baghaei said.
Baghaei said the agenda would also include “Israel’s expansionist policies, developments in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon, and the repercussions of US and Israeli military action against Iran”.
The alliance’s willingness to confront Iran remains uncertain, particularly after Pakistan and Turkey declined to take military action in response to continuing Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. One drone strike came dangerously close to Mecca.
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed another attack Monday, reportedly targeting pumping stations along Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline and the airport in Riyadh.
Egypt, which is not part of the Mecca pact, has taken a more active role, authorizing its forces to assist in Saudi Arabia’s defense. Cairo is also a major financial partner of the Saudis.
Saudi Arabia, the Middle East’s largest oil exporter, has endured the effects of the US-Iran war for nearly eight months. The pressure intensified after the Houthis renewed their attacks against Yemen’s Riyadh-backed government.
The Houthi rebels pledged support for their allies in Tehran during the war and launched a rapid offensive in recent months aimed at seizing the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, posing an additional threat to Saudi oil exports.
With Post Wires
