Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey hold talks with Iran to stop war restarting
Mecca pact delegations, including Pakistan's army chief, met Iran's leaders in Tehran and agreed to keep talking, Iranian state television said.
Pakistan's army chief was among senior officials from the three Mecca defence pact countries who held talks with Iran in Tehran on Monday. The South China Morning Post and The Hindu reported that the talks were an effort to stop the Middle East war from flaring again.
The Hindu cited Iranian state television as saying Iran and the delegations from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey agreed to continue talks after what the broadcaster called a "first" meeting. According to the broadcaster, the parties "agreed to continue discussions to strengthen cooperation... including on regional peace and security".
Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman was part of the Saudi delegation. A photograph published by The Hindu and credited to AFP showed Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian shaking hands with the prince after a meeting that also included the Pakistani army chief and Turkey's intelligence chief.
The two sides described the visit in different terms. Iranian state television spoke of cooperation, while the SCMP quoted a Saudi foreign ministry statement saying the officials had flown to Iran as part of efforts to "de-escalate between the parties to the current crisis".
The SCMP said the talks followed warnings from the United States, Iran and Israel that hostilities could restart in the eight-month war.
The Hindu described Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey as recent signatories to the Mecca pact. Al Jazeera reported that the delegations had arrived in Tehran for security talks.
None of the outlets said when or where the next round of discussions would be held.
According to the SCMP, tensions across the region have risen ahead of Israel's elections on Tuesday and the US midterm elections next week.
Sources: South China Morning Post, Mecca pact countries in Iran in bid to stop war restarting; The Hindu, Iran, Mecca pact countries agree to continue talks after 'first' meeting: state media; Al Jazeera, Delegations arrive in Tehran for security talks.
