Gulf Nations Convene in Tehran: A Last Ditch Effort to Avert Regional Conflict?

As the United States and Israel hint at potential military actions and Iran vows retaliation, a crucial meeting in Tehran is being seen as a final opportunity to de-escalate escalating tensions in the Gulf region. Senior officials representing the nations of the Mecca pact – namely Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkiye – have convened with Iranian leadership in the Iranian capital. Despite previous diplomatic efforts failing to yield a peace agreement between Iran and the US, the current volatile situation, exacerbated by the spillover of fighting from Yemen into Saudi Arabia, raises the question: can the Mecca alliance collaborate with Iran to foster regional security?

The discussion features insights from Folly Bah Thibault, who presents the program, alongside guests Hamid Reza Gholamzadeh, Director of DiploHouse, a Tehran-based think tank; Khaled Batarfi, a Saudi political analyst and academic; and Joey Hood, former acting director of the Office of Iranian Affairs at the US State Department.