Asim Munir meets Iran's Pezeshkian as four-nation talks held in Tehran

President Masoud Pezeshkian met senior officials from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in Tehran on Monday and backed understandings aimed at strengthening regional security, as the four countries try to keep the Middle East conflict from spreading.

Pakistan was represented by Field Marshal Asim Munir, Saudi Arabia by Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Turkey by its intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, according to Independent Urdu. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi travelled with Asim Munir, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported.

Iran's state television said the four sides agreed to continue negotiations after what it called their first meeting in Tehran. IRNA said the heads of the three delegations held "comprehensive and detailed" talks with Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was also present, IRNA reported.

Pakistan's military confirmed Asim Munir's visit but did not release details of the talks.

According to IRNA, Pezeshkian told the meeting: "The Islamic Republic of Iran supports every understanding aimed at strengthening the unity and solidarity of Islamic countries." He said Iran was ready to deepen regional cooperation, remove differences and back understandings that strengthen security and development, the agency reported.

No agreement was announced, and the agency did not say whether the delegations made progress on the disputes driving the wider conflict.

The meeting brought Iran together with the three signatories of the Makkah joint defence pact (Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey) in a single diplomatic format for the first time. Under the agreement reached in August, an armed attack on one member is to be treated as an attack on all three. It is the first high-level meeting in the four-country format since Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia intensified.

Earlier this month a Houthi-claimed attack on Riyadh's main airport killed 13 people and suspended flight operations. Saudi Arabia said on Sunday it had restored operations at two terminals despite threats of new Houthi attacks.

Before the talks, Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told Iranian state television that the Tehran meeting could help build a regional security system. "This meeting of four countries in Tehran can certainly prove an effective and important step in forming a regional security order at the local level," he said, according to Independent Urdu.

Pakistan has previously worked with Qatar to mediate between Washington and Tehran. A June interim agreement brokered by Qatar, meant to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and open talks on a broader settlement, later collapsed. Iran's ambassador to Pakistan said on Sunday that Tehran remained ready to negotiate with the United States.

UrduPoint also carried the meeting, reporting that the members of the Makkah defence alliance and the Iranian leadership had gathered to try to reduce tension in the region.