What did the President of Iran say after a meeting with “Mecca Alliance” officials in Tehran?

- Iranian President, Masoud Pezeshkian, said that Tehran is ready to move forward in deepening regional cooperation and resolving differences, during a meeting with prominent officials from the countries of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey in Iran. The official Iranian news agency (IRNA) reported on Monday that Pezeshkian stressed “the necessity of strengthening unity and rapprochement among Islamic countries,” and stressed that Iran “is ready to move forward in deepening regional cooperation, resolving differences, benefiting from the common capabilities of Islamic countries, and supporting every understanding that would enhance unity, cohesion, security, and development in the region.”

Pezeshkian met with Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani Army Commander Asim Munir, and the head of the Turkish Intelligence Service, Ibrahim Kalin. During the meeting, he expressed his "satisfaction with the holding of these meetings and discussions between Islamic countries."

He stressed that Iran "demands its legal rights within the framework of the principles and rules of international law," adding that his country "will firmly defend, based on these principles, the rights and legitimate interests of the Iranian people." Pezeshkian expressed his hope that "the presence of representatives of important and influential Islamic countries at this meeting will contribute to further consolidating regional unity and cohesion. He added that we must not allow the Zionist entity to assassinate or attack any person or country whenever it wants to do so."

He continued, "I am confident that the Islamic countries standing alongside each other and taking a coordinated stance will prevent the recurrence of such actions... I believe that if we manage our differences well and focus on commonalities and interests instead of being preoccupied with areas of disagreement, we will be able to overcome the region's problems with greater ease and greater effectiveness."

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced, earlier Monday, that the visit of the Saudi Defense Minister and representatives of the “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement” countries to Tehran came within the framework of reducing the escalation between the parties to the current crisis and encouraging dialogue and diplomacy. A statement from the ministry said that Saudi Arabia looks forward "to the parties to the crisis dealing positively and practically with the results of this visit and with the continuing efforts of Qatar and Pakistan, in a way that contributes to resolving the crisis through dialogue and diplomacy."

The Saudi Foreign Ministry also stressed in its statement "the importance of opening negotiation channels to prevent the return of military escalation in the region, and in preparation for reaching an agreement that ends the crisis and achieves security and peace in the region and the world." It is noteworthy that the “Mecca Defense Pact”, which was established in August, aims to coordinate defense and security cooperation between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

It stipulates the obligation of each country to intervene if one of the other countries is attacked, similar to the agreements in force between NATO countries. Saudi Arabia has been subjected to attacks from the Iran-backed Houthi group in recent weeks.

Earlier this month, the three countries announced that they would move immediately to implement collective defense commitments and ensure the rapid deployment of forces and military capabilities within the Kingdom.