Bagheri says Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani officials will visit Tehran

Ali Bagheri Kani said senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan would travel to Tehran for consultations with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council on regional security. The Standard reported that the meeting was scheduled for Monday and identified the officials expected to attend.

Al Jazeera’s headline also described officials from the pact’s member states as preparing for talks in Iran, while 24NewsHD’s headline characterized the planned discussions as security talks. Saudi Arabia was to send Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, according to The Standard. Pakistan’s representative was to be army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir.

Turkey’s intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin, was also expected to join the visit, the outlet reported. The Standard said two people with knowledge of the arrangements had described the planned meeting; one of them said the Turkish intelligence chief would participate.

Bagheri Kani, identified as deputy secretary of Iran’s top security body, told state television that the three officials would come to Tehran for consultations. The account thus attributes confirmation of the visit to an Iranian official, while details about the planned delegation were also attributed to people familiar with the arrangements.

The visit’s stated subject was regional security, rather than a specified bilateral negotiation. The Standard also reported that Iranian officials told Bagheri Kani there would be no talks with Washington until Tehran’s demands were met. That position was conveyed through Iranian media, according to the outlet.

The account did not identify the demands or say whether the visiting officials would discuss them, so the reported condition applies to Tehran’s talks with Washington, not necessarily to the consultations planned with the three visiting countries. The Standard described Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan as countries covered by the Mecca Pact.

It reported that the pact’s first article requires its parties to use “all necessary means” against threats to one another’s territorial integrity, sovereignty or internationally recognised borders, citing a text seen by Reuters. This provision gives the pact a security focus, while the stated purpose of the Tehran visit was consultation on regional security.

The immediate next step described is the officials’ planned visit to Tehran on Monday. The named participants are the Saudi defence minister, Pakistan’s army chief and Turkey’s intelligence chief; Iran’s Supreme National Security Council is the body identified for the consultations.

The account does not establish what the discussions will produce or whether they will alter Tehran’s stated position on talks with Washington.