Pakistan army: There is nothing preventing Iran from joining the Mecca Pact
The Pakistani army spokesman said the decision lies with the pact's three main parties and stressed that the army views the mediation between Iran and the US with cautious optimism.
A spokesman for the Pakistani army said on 30 October that there is nothing preventing Iran from joining the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement and that the decision on this lies with the agreement's three main parties.
The spokesman also said the Pakistani army feels cautious optimism about the mediation between Iran and the United States and warned of the existence of powerful parties seeking to obstruct it. He added that sending more forces to defend Saudi Arabia depends on how the situation develops and on a political decision.
On the same day, a Qatari delegation arrived in Tehran to begin talks with senior Iranian officials.
The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement was signed in August by Türkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Under the agreement, an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all. Its first article states that the parties shall use "all necessary means" to eliminate threats to one another's territorial integrity, sovereignty and internationally recognised borders. Pakistan approved the agreement in mid-October, and the ratification process has begun in Türkiye's parliament.
On 26 October, a meeting was held in Tehran, hosted by Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, with the participation of Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also took part in the meetings. In a joint statement, the four countries said they had agreed to continue the dialogue to strengthen cooperation among the four regional countries.
Earlier in October, ministers of the pact's member states held an emergency meeting in Riyadh and agreed to ensure the "rapid deployment" of military forces in Saudi Arabia. Pakistan has been one of the key intermediaries between Washington and Tehran.
