Mecca Pact’s Paper Shield Leaves Riyadh Seeking Tehran

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey sent senior officials to Tehran on Oct. 26 as Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia continued and governments prepared for diplomacy to fail. The talks brought security officials and political leaders into one room; no agreement to halt the attacks was announced. Around the table, the machinery of states weighed negotiation against the threat of more military force.

Diplomacy With a Military Shadow

Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei, who hosted the four-way talks. Riyadh said the visit by representatives of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement aimed to reduce tensions and promote dialogue. Iranian state television said the four countries agreed to continue discussions on regional peace and security. That was the public result. No halt to Houthi attacks followed in the announcement.

The Mecca defense pact, signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan in August, pledges collective action if a member comes under attack. The Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia were described as its first major test. President Donald Trump had kept open the possibility of renewed U.S. strikes, while Iranian officials warned of retaliation. The pact’s promise of collective protection now sits beside a delegation trying to persuade Tehran to restrain the Houthis.

Mohamed Fahmy, a journalist and regional affairs analyst, called the visit “coercive diplomacy,” describing negotiations backed by preparations for a possible military response. “This may be the last chance before a collective imminent military action,” he told Iran International. “The main objective is pressure,” he said, adding that Saudi Arabia and its partners were exhausting diplomatic options while signaling that continued Houthi attacks could prompt a collective response. The language is diplomatic; the leverage is military.

The Pact and Its Paper Shield

Professor Saad bin Tefla al-Ajmi, a former Kuwaiti information minister, said the seniority of the delegation showed how far Iran’s neighbors were prepared to go to prevent another war. He said Tehran could interpret the visit either as evidence of Iranian strength or as an opening for a diplomatic settlement. Iranian hardliners, he said, could portray the arrival of Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani officials as evidence that Iran had gained the upper hand. A more pragmatic reading would treat the talks as a chance for Tehran to show willingness to cooperate while blaming Washington and Israel if negotiations failed. “It depends on whose mind you are reading in Tehran now,” al-Ajmi said.

Al-Ajmi said Saudi Arabia’s position toward the Houthis had hardened and that Riyadh had exhausted attempts to accommodate them. “I think that they have made their mind that the Houthi will have to go and they can’t take it anymore,” he said. He added that Saudi Arabia was seeking diplomatic and political support while demonstrating that it had been attacked by the Houthis and their Iranian backers.

The Houthis claimed fresh attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure and Riyadh airport on Monday; Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm those claims. The Saudi-led coalition reported destroying Houthi missile infrastructure in Yemen. Egypt’s parliament authorized military support to defend Saudi Arabia, a decision Fahmy said could affect Egypt’s already vulnerable economy. The report offers no account of grassroots organizers or mutual-aid networks; its visible actors are governments, military forces and officials deciding whether the next move is another round of talks or a military response.

Money, Pressure and No Settlement

Israel Hayom reported on Monday, citing unnamed Persian Gulf diplomatic sources, that Saudi Arabia was discussing a possible $1 billion payment to the Houthis through Iran as part of a ceasefire arrangement. The newspaper said a Saudi official did not confirm a transfer, but acknowledged earlier understandings with the Houthis included financial assistance for public-sector salaries and reconstruction in exchange for an end to attacks. Iran International said it could not independently verify the reported proposal. The money remains a reported possibility, not a confirmed deal.

Historian and political analyst Dr. Shahram Kholdi said the Mecca pact had failed to provide the protection promised to its members. “The Mecca Pact has effectively been a paper tiger,” he said, arguing that Saudi Arabia remained vulnerable to Houthi missiles and drones despite military cooperation among the three countries. Kholdi said the delegation aimed to persuade Tehran to restrain the Houthis, potentially in exchange for efforts to persuade Washington to reconsider conditions blocking renewed U.S.-Iran negotiations. He said Turkey and Pakistan were reluctant to confront the Houthis directly because they feared Iranian retaliation, leaving Saudi Arabia to pursue diplomacy while still facing attacks.

Kholdi warned that Tehran’s cooperation might not produce a lasting settlement. He said the Houthis could demand political guarantees amounting to Yemen’s effective partition before stopping attacks, leaving Saudi Arabia with a hostile entity along its southern border—an outcome Riyadh had resisted. Disagreements remain over the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, passage through the Strait of Hormuz and terms for a broader settlement addressing Iran’s nuclear program. Kholdi expected the effort might temporarily reduce hostilities, but doubted it would produce a lasting ceasefire. The officials have agreed to keep talking. The attacks, threats and unresolved disputes remain.