CAIRO (AP) — High-level delegations from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey traveled to Tehran on Monday to meet with Iranian authorities in an attempt to avoid a resumption of fighting in the country. Iranian Warthe Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
The discussions took place while many in Iran are worried on a possible return to total war. Israeli and US leaders escalate threats ahead of elections both countrieswhile Iranian leaders remained defiant.
Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met with top Iranian security officials and negotiators to push for a deal between Tehran and Washington.
THE war in Yemen and hits with Iran-backed Houthi rebels against Saudi Arabia were also topics of discussion, according to two regional officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with journalists.
AP AUDIO: Delegations meet in Iran as Middle East region faces renewed fighting
AP correspondent Julie Walker reports that Iranians fear a possible return to all-out war as U.S. and Israeli elections approach.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that the meeting’s agenda had not been set, but that the talks would “undoubtedly address the most pressing threats to regional security.” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said during talks Monday that Iran supports any agreement that deepens regional cooperation, resolves disputes and makes greater use of the shared resources and capabilities of Islamic countries.
Saudi Arabia said in a statement that delegations hoped to find “ways to defuse tensions, strengthen regional security and promote its stability.”
Qatari mediators also visited Tehran on Sunday, working in coordination with the United States, as part of efforts to defuse regional tensions, according to a regional official speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.
Pakistan and Qatar helped negotiate an agreement in June aimed at getting Iran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz to navigation, end the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, and open negotiations on a broader settlement regarding Iran’s nuclear program. However, the agreement quickly broke down when both sides renewed their attacks.
Iran and Israel exchange accusations
With concerns about the resumption of fighting before Israeli elections Tuesday and the US midterm elections on November 3, Baghaei said over the weekend that Iran had not closed the diplomacy window and that messages were being delivered to the US through intermediaries.
While negotiations have long been stalled, he said the United States appears to persist in its unilateral demands and that U.S. President Donald Trump and other U.S. officials repeatedly use the phrase “total surrender,” which Baghaei said no Iranian accepts.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuMeanwhile, he reiterated his warning on Sunday that Iran or its proxies could launch an attack before the close election to disrupt the vote, citing intelligence.
“The army is ready to both defend and strike,” he said in a video statement. “You will suffer disproportionate blows far greater than you can imagine. »
Israel’s Channel 12 reported Sunday evening that Netanyahu and his military chief of staff clashed over an instruction from Netanyahu to take an “action” that the military said could quickly trigger a resumption of conflict with Iran.
Netanyahu’s office later called the report “fake news.” In an article on
“I state unequivocally that Israel had no intention of launching an attack against Iran before the elections in Israel,” Katz said. “We have made it clear that if Iran attacked Israel, we would respond with great force. »
In Tehran, when asked whether Iran was planning attacks, Baghaei only responded Monday that “the Israeli regime is highly qualified to carry out false flag operations.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to exercise its inherent right of self-defense to protect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Iran,” he said.
The front in the war in Iran widens
Yemen has become an increasingly broad front in the war against Iran that began in February, with the Houthis is increasingly launching attacks against Saudi Arabia because it supports Yemen’s internationally recognized government fighting rebels.
The conflict has intensified since forces from the internationally recognized government and Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes on the Houthi-held Sanaa International Airport in July, breaking the 2022 ceasefire agreement that had largely ended fighting in the country’s civil war.
On Monday morning, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebel group fired ballistic missiles at military gatherings and weapons depots belonging to Saudi-backed government forces in Aden and Lahj provinces. He said the attacks destroyed military equipment and caused casualties, but provided no evidence. The Associated Press could not independently verify the information.
Residents of Houthi-held Sanaa and the Red Sea coast reported a series of explosions.
Houthi media claimed the airstrikes targeted a solar energy system and a water well in Sanaa, but provided no evidence. In the port town of Mokha, recently seized by the Houthis, residents said rockets hit several buildings, including a hospital.
The Houthi-run al-Masirah channel also reported strikes in Saada, in northern Yemen, and in the southwest province of Taiz, where rebels and Saudi-backed government forces have been fighting for weeks.
The spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition said an operation in Houthi-controlled territory destroyed five tunnels used to store ballistic missiles, four ballistic missile launchers and other missile storages.
Furthermore, the Egyptian Parliament approved on Monday a request from President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to provide military support to Saudi Arabia to help defend against Houthi attacks.
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Victoria Eastwood and Fatma Khaled in Cairo, Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Ahmed al-Haj in Aden, Yemen, and David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this report.
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