Members of the Mecca defense alliance in Tehran to defuse tensions between Iran, the United States and Yemen | US-Israeli war against Iran

Tehran, Iran – Ministers and senior security officials from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey – the three countries that signed the Mecca joint defense agreement – are in Tehran to discuss regional security issues amid threats of new US strikes against Iran.

Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud, Pakistani military chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and will discuss tensions with security chief Mohsen Rezaei.

These meetings are among the most high-profile dialogues held in Tehran in recent months. While there is still little information about what might be discussed, the meetings come amid intense diplomatic activity to address a new escalation between the United States and Iran.

“The Mecca Pact’s 11-hour visit to Tehran is an attempt to tip the scales in favor of those willing to compromise before the guns start firing again,” said Ali Vaez, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the International Crisis Group.

“But unless they come up with a credible formula for bridging the divide between the United States and Iran, they could find themselves with little more than goodwill in a race against time. »

The talks are expected to focus on waves of missile and drone attacks carried out by Yemen’s Houthi rebels, allies of Tehran, against Saudi Arabia, which supports Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

“I think the parties to the Mecca agreement are lacking options for military engagement with the Houthis, but Riyadh is certainly putting more pressure on for more, and its expectations of its partners have increased alongside the Yemen offensive,” Ayesha Siddiqa, a senior research fellow at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera.

But despite collective security provisions in the Mecca defense deal, Saudi Arabia’s allies Turkey and Pakistan cannot “afford to send troops on the ground” in Yemen, Siddiqa said.

The latest diplomatic push is likely linked to Pakistani army chief Asim Munir’s visits to Saudi Arabia and Iran last week, Siddiqa said, and coincides with Islamabad’s restrictions on land border trade with Tehran amid the US blockade against Iran.

Iranian authorities said they favored “security coming from the region” when preparing for the meetings.

Umer Karim, who studies Saudi foreign policy and its implications for regional security, said the Tehran meetings were unlikely to reduce the risk of a resumption of war between Iran and the United States, which would likely lead to more unrest in the region.

“Therefore, these discussions may be more about Saudi Arabia’s security and involve an attempt by Turkey and Pakistan to force Iran to reach a compromise,” he told Al Jazeera.

Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, said she was “cautiously optimistic” about the impact of the immediate meeting, but “less positive” about lasting progress.

“Iran has strong incentives to avoid another major confrontation, and there may be limited room for agreement, particularly regarding Yemen,” she said. “But the Houthis have their own calculations and Iran’s influence over them is not absolute. It will be even more difficult to prevent further US-Israeli attacks because fundamental disagreements between Tehran and Washington remain unresolved.”

US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering new attacks to break the diplomatic impasse with Iran, which has refused to accept any peace deal with Washington until several of its demands are met.

The United States and regional powers want international shipping and transit through the Strait of Hormuz to resume without hindrance or attacks. Washington also wants to curb Tehran’s nuclear program and call on international inspectors to evaluate Iran’s highly enriched uranium. Israel says it wants to overthrow the Islamic Republic.

Tehran wants to lift the US naval blockade of southern Iranian ports, which has cut off crude oil exports and disrupted most trade, and return to a memorandum of understanding agreed between the two countries in June.

The United States refused, with President Trump saying he was left with the choice to “finish the job” by launching major strikes on Iranian civilian infrastructure. That could prompt Iran to go after its neighbors, as it did earlier in the war with strikes on U.S. bases in Arab states and their infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the US State Department issued an order on October 21 directing US government employees and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia for their safety, given the threat from the Houthis.

As negotiations between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey continue in Iran, analysts say signatories to the Mecca Common Defense Agreement will likely try to minimize the impact on Saudi Arabia if war breaks out again.

“However, given that little has changed from the Iranian strategic calculus and the actors involved lack the type of leverage needed to influence Iranian strategic thinking, these negotiations will yield little results,” Karim said.