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Tehran security talks aim to limit foreign intervention, Iranian academic says

Ahmed Mahdi presents regional cooperation as a shield against Washington and Israel, while the interviewer presses him on attacks affecting Gulf states.

Channel: Al Araby Arabic channel ·

Arab worldStory of October 28, 2026Trari Newsroom

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العربي - أخبار : The Arabic television channel Al Araby, broadcasting from London since 2015, owned by a company backed by Qatar. 12M subscribers and 9.6B views.

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0:37Mahdi proposes regional security cooperation that limits foreign intervention and could eventually include Egypt.
2:19The anchor identifies senior Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani participants as evidence of the meeting's importance.
2:53Mahdi links the talks to an earlier Iranian proposal to remove foreign bases.
4:30Asked about Houthis and attacks on Saudi Arabia, Mahdi says Iran supports de-escalation and blames foreign influence.
6:30Mahdi credits Qatari mediation; the anchor subsequently challenges him over attacks affecting Gulf infrastructure.
8:24Mahdi says a regional grouping could prevent Washington and Israel from acting against participating countries individually.

Can Iran and Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan build a shared security arrangement despite their differences? That question drives an interview on Qatar-based Al Araby Television about a four-way meeting in Tehran involving Iran and countries the broadcast calls the "Mecca alliance."

Speaking from Tehran, Ahmed Mahdi, a professor of political media at Qom University, argues that the participants want a regional security framework that reduces foreign intervention and gives each country an equal role. He also raises the possibility of Egypt joining in the future.

The anchor emphasizes the seniority of those attending: Saudi Arabia's defense minister, Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin and Pakistani army chief Asim Munir. Mahdi connects the meeting to an earlier Iranian proposal to remove foreign military bases from the region. In his account, the talks offer a starting point for mutually acceptable regional security solutions.

The interview then tests that broad ambition against specific disputes. The anchor asks whether cooperation could address the Houthi issue and attacks on Saudi Arabia, alongside tensions involving Israel. Mahdi says Iran supports a ceasefire and de-escalation. He argues that foreign powers, particularly the United States, encourage fear of Iran to sell weapons and sustain their regional influence.

Qatar's mediation is another central theme. Mahdi credits it with helping make the Tehran meeting possible and says the initiative supports that continuing diplomatic effort.

But the anchor challenges his portrayal of Iran's role, asking about earlier Iranian attacks in the region and the targeting of infrastructure, including Ras Laffan, Qatar's major gas-processing and export hub. Mahdi responds that Iran targeted military bases rather than Gulf countries, offering an Iranian defense of those actions rather than resolving the interviewer's objection.

His concluding assessment is that the meeting has already achieved a minimum objective: creating a regional grouping that, he argues, would prevent Washington and Israel from isolating and acting against any one participating country. That is the strategic promise Mahdi attaches to the talks, beyond the question of whether the participants can settle their outstanding disputes.

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