Delegations meet in Iran with Mideast region on edge over potential for
renewed fighting
[October 26, 2026]
By SAMY MAGDY
CAIRO (AP) — High-level delegations from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and
Turkey were in Tehran on Monday for meetings with Iranian authorities to
try to avert renewed fighting between Iran and Israel and the United
States, Iran's Foreign Ministry said.
The talks come as many in Iran are anxious about a possible return to
all-out war. Israeli and American leaders have been sharpening their
threats ahead of elections in both countries, while Iranian leaders have
remained defiant.
Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief Field
Marshal Asim Munir and Ibrahim Kalin, the head of Turkey’s intelligence
service, were to meet with Iran’s top security officials and negotiators
to push for a deal between Tehran and Washington.
The war in Yemen and strikes by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels against
Saudi Arabia were also topics of the talks, according to two regional
officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not
authorized to speak to reporters.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in
the Iranian capital that the agenda for the meeting was not set, but the
talks 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 also traveled to Tehran on Sunday, working in
coordination with the U.S., as part of efforts to de-escalate regional
tensions, according to a regional official 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 U.S.
blockade of Iranian ports and opening negotiations on a broader
settlement addressing Iran’s nuclear program. The deal unraveled
quickly, however, as both sides renewed attacks.
Iran and Israel trade accusations
With worries about renewed fighting ahead of Israel's election on
Tuesday and the Nov. 3 midterm elections in the U.S., Baghaei on the
weekend said Tehran had not closed the window of diplomacy and that
messages were being passed to the U.S. via intermediaries.
With negotiations long stalled, he said that the U.S. appears to be
persisting in unilateral demands and that President Donald Trump and
U.S. officials repeatedly use the phrase “complete surrender,” which
Baghaei said no Iranian accepts.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meantime, repeated his
warning on Sunday 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.”
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A bird flies low over the water as cargo ships lie at anchor in the
Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, early Saturday, Oct. 24,
2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
Israel’s Channel 12 reported 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.” In a
post on X, Defense Minister Israel Katz said that reports about
“rifts between the political leadership and the IDF concerning Iran
are completely baseless and false.”
“I state unequivocally that there has been no intention by Israel of
initiating an attack on Iran before the elections in Israel,” Katz
said. “We made it clear that should Iran attack Israel, we would
respond with great force.”
In Tehran, when asked whether Iran was planning attacks, Baghaei on
Monday only said that “the Israeli regime is highly skilled at
carrying out false-flag operations.”
"The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to exercise its
inherent right to self-defense to protect Iran’s sovereignty,
territorial integrity, and independence,” he said.
Front in the Iran war widens
Yemen has become a widening front in the Iran war that began in
February, with the Houthis increasingly launching attacks on Saudi
Arabia because it supports Yemen’s internationally recognized
government battling the rebels.
The conflict has intensified since forces from the internationally
recognized government and Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes on
Houthi-held Sanaa International Airport in July, shattering a 2022
ceasefire deal that largely stopped the fighting in the country’s
civil war.
Early Monday, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the
rebel group had fired ballistic missiles at military gatherings and
weapons depots belonging to Saudi-backed government forces in Aden
and Lahj provinces. He claimed the attacks destroyed military
equipment and caused casualties but did not provide evidence. The
Associated Press couldn’t independently verify the claims.
___
Associated Press journalists Victoria Eastwood and Fatma Khaled in
Cairo, Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad
and David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this report.
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