Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey send envoys to Tehran to seek de-escalation

Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin travelled to Tehran on Monday. According to DW and Arab News, they met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and senior officials, including Mohsen Rezaei of the Supreme National Security Council.

The three men represented the Mecca defence pact, an alliance of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Arab News said the agreement was signed on August 7 and that this was its first major mediation effort. Under the pact, an outside attack on one member is regarded as an attack on all.

Saudi Arabia said the trip aimed to open negotiating channels and prevent a return of military escalation. No agenda was officially released. A senior Pakistani official told Reuters, as cited by DW, that the talks covered a regional non-aggression network, US-Iran talks, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, the Strait of Hormuz and the US naval blockade.

Another official said Munir put forward a solution that would offer something to both Washington and Tehran, with the three pact members and Qatar as mediators. A source told Reuters that President Donald Trump had earlier given Munir the go-ahead to try diplomacy.

Iran described the atmosphere of the talks as very positive, though no breakthroughs were announced. Rezaei said: "Very good discussions took place between us." He also said: "I feel that a new atmosphere is emerging in the region." Iranian officials called the visit a confidence-building step, while restating their positions on the Strait of Hormuz.

Rezaei reportedly met Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei the next day. Iranian state media said Khamenei called for protecting Iran's interests and keeping Tehran's conditions for ending the war. Pezeshkian then travelled to Moscow for the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, where he met Vladimir Putin and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and discussed the war and the Strait of Hormuz with the emir.

Some in Iran and abroad saw the outreach as a possible warning. Ali Asghar Shafieian, media adviser to Pezeshkian, said: "You cannot conclude from this meeting alone that it was an ultimatum before an attack." Arab News reported that Qatari mediators gave Tehran a new draft deal on Sunday, with a response hoped for by the end of the week.