Delegations in Iran to avert fighting

NO SET AGENDA: Top Saudi, Pakistan and Turkish security officials met with Iranian negotiators to push for a US-Iran deal and address other pressing threats

High-level delegations from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey were yesterday in Tehran for meetings with Iranian authorities to try to avert renewed fighting between Iran and Israel and the US, the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The talks come as many in Iran are bracing themselves for the possible return to an all-out war, as Israeli and US leaders have been sharpening their threats ahead of pending elections in both countries, while Iranian leaders have remained defiant.

Saudi Arabian Minister of Defense Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Ibrahim Kalin, the head of Turkey’s intelligence service, were to meet with Iran’s top security official negotiators to push for a deal between Tehran and Washington.

People walk past an art installation depicting a prison cell with an actor impersonating US President Donald Trump behind bars in Tajrish Square, Tehran, yesterday.

Photo: EPA

The war in Yemen and strikes by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels against Saudi Arabia were topics also on the table, said two regional officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran that the meeting’s agenda was not set, but that they would “undoubtedly address the most pressing threats to regional security.”

Saudi Arabia said in a statement that the delegations hoped to find “ways to de-escalate tensions, enhance regional security and promote its stability.”

Qatari mediators were in Tehran on Sunday, working in coordination with the U.S., as part of ongoing efforts to de-escalate regional tensions, a regional official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the talks.

Pakistan and Qatar helped broker an agreement in June aimed at having Iran fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, ending a US blockade of Iranian ports and opening negotiations on a broader settlement addressing Iran’s nuclear program. However, the deal unraveled quickly, as both sides renewed attacks.

With worries about renewed fighting ahead of Israel’s election today and US midterm elections on Tuesday next week, Baghaei on the weekend said Tehran had not closed the window of diplomacy and that messages were being passed to the US via intermediaries.

With negotiations long stalled, he said that the US appeared to be persisting in unilateral demands and that Trump and US officials repeatedly use the phrase “complete surrender,” which Baghaei said no Iranian accepts.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday repeated his warning that Iran or its proxies could attack ahead of the close elections to disrupt the vote, citing intelligence.

“The [military] is ready both to defend and to strike,” he said in a video statement, adding: “You will suffer disproportionate blows far greater than you can imagine.”

Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Sunday night that Netanyahu and his military chief of staff clashed over an instruction by Netanyahu to carry out an “action” that the army believes could quickly trigger a resumption of the conflict with Iran.

Netanyahu’s office later described the report as “fake news.” There was no immediate military comment.

Asked whether Iran was planning attacks, Baghaei yesterday only said that “the Israeli regime is highly skilled at carrying out false-flag operations.”

However, he underscored that “we are in a state of war” and that Iran would defend itself.