Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran discuss Gulf security framework in Tehran

Officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey gathered with Iranian leaders in Tehran on Thursday, a meeting that diplomats say is the last chance to defuse a rapidly widening crisis in the Gulf after the United States and Israel hinted at possible strikes and Tehran vowed to retaliate.

The talks come as a fragile diplomatic effort to secure a peace agreement between Tehran and Washington has stalled for months. Washington and Jerusalem have increased rhetoric over Iran’s nuclear program and its support for militant groups, while Iran has warned that any attack on its interests will be met with a “proportionate” response. At the same time, the war in Yemen has begun to spill over into Saudi territory, with Houthi missile strikes hitting oil facilities and civilian infrastructure. The three countries that signed the Mecca Pact in 2022 – Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey – are now trying to see whether a joint security framework that includes Iran could contain the fallout and prevent the conflict from expanding further across the Red Sea and the Arabian Peninsula.

Analysts see the meeting as a test of whether the Mecca alliance can evolve from a defensive arrangement against Iran to a broader regional security platform. Hamid Reza Gholamzadeh, director of the Tehran‑based think‑tank DiploHouse, said the dialogue “offers a narrow window for pragmatic cooperation before the situation becomes irreversible.” Saudi political analyst Khaled Batarfi warned that “any misstep now could lock the Gulf into a new arms race,” while former U.S. State Department official Joey Hood noted that “the United States will be watching closely to see if Tehran can be persuaded to de‑escalate without compromising its core interests.” The participants exchanged contact details, agreed to set up a joint monitoring committee, and pledged to reconvene within a month to assess progress.

If the talks produce a concrete security framework, the region could see a reduction in cross‑border attacks and a more coordinated response to the Yemen war. Failure, however, may push the United States and Israel to consider pre‑emptive action, raising the risk of a wider confrontation that could draw in the Mecca Pact members. The next steps will hinge on whether Tehran is willing to accept limited concessions and whether the three allies can present a united front that balances their own security concerns with broader regional stability.