Four Nations Agree to Continue Talks as Saudi Arabia Intercepts Seven Houthi Attacks

Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkiye, and Pakistan have agreed to hold further discussions aimed at stabilizing the region. The four countries issued a joint statement late Monday confirming their intent to strengthen cooperation for peace and security. This decision came as the Saudi-led coalition reported intercepting a new wave of Houthi attacks early Tuesday.

The meeting in Tehran marked the first high-level contact between Iran and the other three nations since the war expanded beyond its initial scope. The conflict began with United States and Israeli strikes on Iran before spreading to Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The participants had previously signed the Mecca mutual defence pact in August.

Prince Khalid bin Salman, the Saudi defence minister and younger brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, led the Saudi delegation. Pakistan sent Field Marshal Asim Munir, its army chief. Turkiye was represented by intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, attended the meetings in Tehran.

Colonel Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the coalition, said the group intercepted three ballistic missiles aimed at Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province early Tuesday. He confirmed that no casualties resulted from the interception. Al-Maliki also stated that four drones heading toward the south of the kingdom were shot down. The coalition had downed three additional drones over Riyadh and southern Saudi Arabia on Monday evening.

A senior Pakistani security official told Reuters that the talks focused on creating a regional non-aggression network. The agenda included negotiations between the US and Iran, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, the Strait of Hormuz, and the US blockade of Iranian ports. Another Pakistani official said Field Marshal Munir, operating with US President Donald Trump’s approval, presented a proposal to Iran. The official noted that the states in the Mecca pact, along with Qatar, could act as guarantors if the proposal was accepted.

Mohsen Rezaei, the Iranian security chief, said the visit demonstrated that American threats have little impact on countries around the world. He described a new and positive atmosphere in the region. Esmaeil Baghaei, a spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, had earlier suggested the meeting could be a first step toward regional security arrangements. The meeting was proposed when Field Marshal Munir visited Tehran the previous week.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have increased recently. President Trump said on Friday that the US may strike Iran again. A mediation effort led by Pakistan and Qatar produced an interim peace agreement in June, but fighting between Iran and the US soon resumed. Conflict then flared between the Iran-aligned Houthis and Saudi Arabia, opening a new front and deepening the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

The Houthis seized strategic areas along Yemen’s Red Sea coast from Saudi-backed government forces in a lightning offensive last month. This action prompted a counteroffensive and led Saudi Arabia to intensify its strikes on the group. The Houthis have also targeted Saudi airports, ports, and oil facilities. An attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh this month killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 300, making it the deadliest attack on the kingdom in over a decade.

Earlier on Monday, the Houthis claimed an attack on the Riyadh airport and crude oil pumping stations in the west and east of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed these missiles. The coalition also launched retaliatory attacks, destroying five tunnels used to store ballistic missiles, four missile launchers, and a missile depot.

The wider war has restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and driven up oil and petrol prices. Egypt, a major financial and political partner of Saudi Arabia, moved closer to the fight on Monday. Its Parliament authorised the military to help defend the kingdom.