Gulf states and Qatar meet Iranian officials in Tehran, but no deal yet

Envoys from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye and diplomats from Qatar met senior Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday to try to prevent a return to all-out war, and no agreement has been reported. The talks were the first high-level contact between Iran and the nations behind the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement since the US-Israel war on Iran began on February 28, according to Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera said the meeting came days after Iran-aligned Houthi fighters struck Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities. DW said it took place amid fears that the US and Israel could launch new attacks on Iran after the US midterm election on November 3.

What we know

• Al Jazeera reported that Saudi Minister of Defence Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud attended the meeting in Tehran.
• DW reported that Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir, Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and senior officials.
• DW said Saudi Arabia described the trip as aimed at opening negotiating channels and "prevent the return of military escalation."
• DW reported that Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told state television: "Very good discussions took place between us."
• A senior Pakistani official told Reuters, as cited by DW, that the talks focused on building a regional non-aggression network, alongside US-Iran talks, Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, the Strait of Hormuz and the US naval blockade.
• Al Jazeera reported that Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, speaking at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, called for a regional security framework between the Gulf countries and Iran that includes a "non-aggression pact".

What we don't know yet

• DW said details of the agenda in Tehran remain scarce, and no breakthrough was officially announced.
• Al Jazeera said Reuters reported that Qatari mediators gave Iran a draft deal on Sunday and that Tehran was expected to respond by the end of the week. On Wednesday, Reuters quoted Iranian officials as saying Qatar's ideas were unacceptable and that Tehran would show no flexibility on the nuclear issue. Whether Tehran will give a formal response is not stated in either report.
• DW said another official told Reuters that Munir presented Iran with a proposed solution offering something to both Washington and Iran, with the three Mecca states and Qatar as mediators. Neither outlet says how Iran has responded to it.
• Al Jazeera said questions remain over whether a regional agreement is possible and where it would leave relations between the US and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi of Chatham House told the outlet it is "really hard to see a regional security framework coming out in the coming months or even years."