Araqchi comments on the meeting of the defense ministers of Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in Tehran

The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, commented on the quadripartite meeting of the defense ministers of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan in Tehran, stressing that it is “a valuable opportunity to advance the dialogue on regional peace and security.” This came in a blog post by Araqchi on his page on the

Araqchi continued in the blog post carried by the official Iranian News Agency: “Transforming this opportunity into sustainable cooperation requires agreement on principles, building trust, mutual respect for the sovereignty of states, and practical commitments, stressing that from the point of view of the Islamic Republic of Iran, sustainable security must be guaranteed with the participation of countries in the region and without any military presence or interference from forces from outside the region.” He added: "This approach is based on the countries of the region assuming responsibility for self-determination," explaining that "confronting the evils of the Zionist entity and its attacks is, in this context, a basic necessity for defending the independence and sovereignty of states, and preventing the expansion of the scope of war."

Araqchi concluded his post by reiterating that “the neighbors are a priority for Iran.”