High-level diplomatic delegations from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have travelled to Tehran in an attempt to prevent renewed fighting between Iran and the US and Israel as rhetoric sharpens on both sides.
asserted
rhetoric → travel → sides
Security officials and diplomats at Monday’s meeting were expected to discuss how Iran could persuade the Houthis in Yemen to end their crippling missile and drone attacks on infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.
uncertain
Iran → expect → Arabia
With fighting raging across Yemen, the Houthis claimed to have closed Riyadh airport and inflicted heavy damage on the Saudi economy.
asserted
Houthis → rag → economy
The officials were also understood to be discussing Iran’s possible inclusion in a new security pact involving Islamic countries.
asserted
officials → understand → countries
The Saudi defence minister, Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, and the head of Turkey’s intelligence service, Ibrahim Kalın, were to meet Iran’s top security officials and negotiators to push for a deal between Tehran and Washington.
asserted
minister → meet → Tehran
The three countries signed a defence agreement in Mecca in August.
asserted
countries → sign → August
Some in Iran feared the deal was constructed to challenge Tehran, but the signatory countries have insisted it is simply a mutual defence pact.
asserted
it → fear → Tehran
The balance between exploring a new long-term security architecture and demanding Iran start to compromise in the conflicts in which it is engaged will be critical.
asserted
it → explore → which
It is possible the two sides came to the meeting with different priorities.
asserted
sides → come → priorities
The Iranian foreign ministry has often proposed a security pact for the region in which Iran, as opposed to the US, plays a role, and the US-Iran conflict has potentially reopened the debate among Gulf states about whether the heavy presence of US bases in their countries is a source of reassurance or insecurity.
asserted
presence → propose → reassurance
Oman is one Gulf state to have explored a regional security pact that includes Iran.
asserted
that → explore → Iran
No Gulf state openly supported the US-Israeli attack on Iran either last year or this February, but some have covertly cooperated in the operations.
asserted
some → support → operations
Iran has sought to defend itself by attacking US bases and energy infrastructure in the Gulf states.
asserted
Iran → seek → states
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said the meeting could pave the way for broader regional cooperation on security based on shared interest.
uncertain
meeting → say → interest
“The events of the last two years, especially the past eight months, have shown that sustainable and reliable security in our region will only be possible by building trust and cooperation among the countries of the region,” he said.
asserted
he → show → region
Javad Zarif, a former foreign minister and long-term advocate of a regional security alliance called for “a comprehensive regional network based on non-aggression, mutual trust building, and shared prosperity”.
asserted
Zarif → call → aggression
“Regional security is not imported, it must be created by the people of this very region together,” he said.
asserted
he → import → region
He published his message alongside an image of verses 103 and 159 from Surah Ali ‘Imran, the third chapter of the Qur’an.
asserted
He → publish → Qur’an
The verses emphasise being saved from a fiery pit by avoiding division, fostering unity, seeking forgiveness and consulting others.
asserted
verses → emphasise → others
The meeting takes place against a backdrop of continued Pentagon briefings about a major US military buildup in preparation for a possible assault after the midterm elections.
asserted
meeting → take → elections
Qatari mediators, it was confirmed, spent much of Sunday in Tehran seeking terms for Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz.
asserted
Iran → confirm → Hormuz
Israeli media reports claimed the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been trying to browbeat the military into provoking a war with Iran before the Israeli elections on Tuesday.
asserted
minister → claim → Tuesday
Donald Trump’s repeated call for Netanyahu to be re-elected only adds to the mood in the region that modern-day US and Israel have the potential to be a long-term source of insecurity in the region.
asserted
US → repeat → region
The idea of a security pact with Iran will be resisted in large parts of the Middle East after the damage Tehran has been prepared to inflict on the economies of the region, either directly or through the use of intermediaries such as the Houthis.
asserted
Tehran → resist → Houthis
Iranian hardliners also increasingly argue Iran’s security best lies in trying to assemble a nuclear bomb, ending the fatwa on the possession of a weapon of mass destruction.
asserted
security → argue → destruction
A pact likely to take many months to negotiate may also not be a solution to Washington’s demand that Iran reopen the strait of Hormuz before US sanctions are lifted.
uncertain
sanctions → take → Hormuz
The Aporia
