First posted on Instagram
Iran has sent a defiant message to Washington as its security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, hosted senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey in Tehran on Monday, October 26, for four-way talks on regional security. After the meeting, Rezaei told reporters that regional cooperation should have begun long ago, and that the visits showed United States threats do not have much influence on countries around the world.
The visiting officials were Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir, and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin. Before the joint session, the three met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also attended the discussions.
The meeting advances Iran's doctrine of what its officials call endogenous security: that countries in the region, rather than outside powers, should guarantee their own security. Deputy security chief Ali Bagheri Kani said foreign interference, particularly by the United States, and Israel's regional role undermine stability, and described the four-country meeting as a significant step toward a regional security framework. The meeting was proposed by Pakistan during Munir's visit to Tehran last week, and was also intended to congratulate Rezaei on his appointment as secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.
The talks come amid heightened tensions, with CNN reporting that the White House has plans that could put American forces in a position to carry out strikes against Iran within 96 hours of an order from the president. War has engulfed the region since late February, when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran; an April ceasefire ended the initial intense bombardment, but the two sides have continued to contest the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in August 2026, under which an armed attack on any one of them is treated as an attack on all.