Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish Envoys Press Tehran to Avoid a New War

High-level delegations from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey arrived in Tehran on Monday to try to head off a return to fighting between Iran and Israel and the United States, according to the Associated Press, which cited two regional officials. An Iranian official confirmed the visitors had arrived.

The mission comes as many people in Iran are bracing for the possibility of renewed all-out war, with Israeli and American leaders sharpening their threats ahead of elections in both countries while Iranian leaders stay defiant, AP reported.

Who is in Tehran and what they want

Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Ibrahim Kalin, the head of Turkey’s intelligence service, were due to meet Iran’s top security officials and negotiators. Their aim is to push for a deal between Tehran and Washington, the officials said. They spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

The war in Yemen and attacks by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on Saudi Arabia were also on the agenda. Saudi Arabia said in a statement that the delegations hoped to find ways to de-escalate tensions and promote regional stability. According to a regional official quoted by AP, mediators from Qatar were in Tehran on Sunday, working in coordination with the United States.

Threats ahead of two elections

Israel votes on Tuesday, and U.S. midterm elections follow on Nov. 3. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said over the weekend that Tehran has not closed the door to diplomacy and that messages are being passed to Washington through intermediaries. He also said negotiations have long been stalled and accused the United States of clinging to unilateral demands, saying no Iranian would accept the “complete surrender” that he said Trump and U.S. officials repeatedly call for.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated on Sunday, citing intelligence, that Iran or its proxies could attack before the close vote to disrupt it. In a video statement he said Israel’s military is ready to defend and to strike, and warned of blows far greater than Iran could imagine.

Israel’s Channel 12 reported Sunday night that Netanyahu and his military chief of staff clashed over an instruction to carry out an action that the army believes could quickly restart the conflict with Iran. Netanyahu dismissed the report as nonsense in an interview with Channel 14. The military did not immediately comment.

Why it matters

The talks are an attempt to keep a shaky standoff from turning back into open war. Pakistan and Qatar helped broker an agreement in June that was meant to have Iran fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, end a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and open negotiations on a broader settlement covering Iran’s nuclear program, according to ABC News. That deal unraveled quickly as both sides resumed attacks.

Renewed fighting would also deepen the crisis in Yemen, which ABC News described as a widening front in the Iran war that began in February. The Houthis have increasingly attacked Saudi Arabia, which backs Yemen’s internationally recognized government. Fighting there has intensified since government forces and a Saudi-led coalition struck Sanaa International Airport in July, breaking a 2022 ceasefire.

Early Monday, a Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said the group fired ballistic missiles at military gatherings and weapons depots of Saudi-backed government forces in Aden and Lahj provinces. He claimed the strikes caused losses of equipment and personnel but offered no evidence, and AP said it could not independently verify the claims.

What to watch next

The outcome of the Tehran meetings was not known. The next markers are Israel’s election on Tuesday and the U.S. vote on Nov. 3, the two dates around which officials on both sides have voiced fears of an escalation.

Around Prague, based on reporting by The Independent, ABC News