# Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish security chiefs press Iran on Hormuz after a record month of tanker attacks

The Makkah pact talks in Tehran follow 28 attacks on shipping in October and an Iranian claim, rejected by Trump and only partly confirmed, that seven tankers were hit in one night. Brent fell below $115.

- Published: 2026-10-27T05:06:34.199Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-10-27/saudi-pakistani-and-turkish-security-chiefs-meet-iran-s-lead
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: geopolitics
- Sources: [Dawn](https://www.dawn.com/news/2040129/makkah-pact-allies-move-from-defence-to-diplomacy), [IRNA (Farsi)](https://www.irna.ir/news/86304002/%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%B1-%D9%87%DB%8C%D8%A6%D8%AA-%D8%B3%D9%87-%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%87%D9%85-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%AD%D8%B3%D9%86-%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%84-%D8%B4%D8%B1%D8%B7), [BBC News Hindi](https://www.bbc.com/hindi/articles/cmp3g2k653wlo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss), [Investing.com Commodities](https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-extends-losses-as-iran-mediation-efforts-ease-escalation-fears-4973997)

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey sent their security chiefs to Tehran to press for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz after the highest monthly number of attacks on shipping in the waterway that the Washington Institute for Near East Policy has recorded. The institute counted [28 confirmed and reported attacks](https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2026-10-23/ship-attacks-in-strait-of-hormuz-hit-record-high-in-october) in and around the strait in October, and 113 since the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28. On Monday, October 26, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center issued a [verified but delayed report](https://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/tanker-disabled-by-projectile-strike-in-strait-of-hormuz/) that a projectile had struck and disabled an outbound tanker in the strait on October 23. UKMTO said the crew was safe.

The scale of the attacks is disputed. On Thursday, October 22, Iranian state television cited the navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and [said seven tankers had been damaged overnight](https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/ap-top-news/2026/10/22/iran-says-7-tankers-on-fire-or-damaged-overnight-in-the-strait-of-hormuz-and-other-mideast-news). According to the IRGC, four tankers caught fire after an attack while they transferred oil, and three hit naval mines. The Associated Press said seven would possibly be the largest number of ships damaged in a single day since the war began, but it could not confirm the claim. UKMTO logged only two attacks in that period, on the Kuwait-flagged Al Dasma and the Liberia-flagged Soyia. President Donald Trump [rejected the Iranian reports](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/oct/22/trump-rejects-iranian-claims-tanker-strikes-strait-hormuz-oil-prices/) and accused Tehran of inventing incidents to raise oil prices before the US midterm elections in November. He [said more oil now moves through the strait](https://gcaptain.com/iran-claims-more-ships-struck-near-hormuz-as-trump-accuses-tehran-of-faking-hits/) than before the conflict. Iran [warned that US bases in the region could be targeted](https://www.military.com/iran-says-7-oil-tankers-attacked-in-the-strait-of-hormuz-as-fears-grow-of-a-return-to-war) if American forces continue to help commercial ships pass through the strait.

In Tehran, Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin held talks with President Masoud Pezeshkian and senior Iranian security officials. [Dawn reports](https://www.dawn.com/news/2040129/makkah-pact-allies-move-from-defence-to-diplomacy) that the three states, which signed a mutual defense arrangement known as the Makkah pact, brought an agenda that included halting Houthi attacks and reopening the strait. Pezeshkian backed an understanding "to strengthen unity among Muslim nations." Riyadh said the visit aimed to support existing Qatari and Pakistani mediation. The meeting followed [an increase in Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/26/mecca-defence-alliance-members-in-tehran-to-defuse-iran-us-yemen-tensions) and renewed warnings of military action between Tehran and Washington. According to [Geo News](https://www.geo.tv/latest/688392-cdf-munir-in-tehran-as-iran-hosts-makkah-pact-nations-amid-escalating-houthi-attacks), the parties agreed to continue the dialogue. Munir had proposed the format during a visit to Tehran the previous week.

Iranian state media presented the visit as a test of the Gulf states' intentions. A former Iranian ambassador to Lebanon and Kuwait [told IRNA](https://www.irna.ir/news/86304002/%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%B1-%D9%87%DB%8C%D8%A6%D8%AA-%D8%B3%D9%87-%D8%AC%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%85%D9%87%D9%85-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%AF-%D8%AD%D8%B3%D9%86-%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D9%85%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%84-%D8%B4%D8%B1%D8%B7) that the trilateral trip was important but that any durable regional security structure "first requires genuine and mutual good faith" from the parties. [BBC News Hindi](https://www.bbc.com/hindi/articles/cmp3g2k653wlo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss) asks why Tehran accepts Pakistani mediation at all. Pakistan has been a close partner of both Washington and Riyadh since its founding, yet Iran has accepted Islamabad as an intermediary and has voiced no public distrust. Pakistan shares a long border with Iran and needs calm on it, and it also has security obligations to Saudi Arabia. Both of its relationships depend on a settlement.

Oil traders gave more weight to the talks than to the attack record. Brent [topped $113](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/oct/22/trump-rejects-iranian-claims-tanker-strikes-strait-hormuz-oil-prices/) on October 22 after the seven-tanker reports. Crude had [fallen from a six-month high](https://coincentral.com/oil-prices-fall-from-six-month-high-as-iran-talks-ease-supply-fears) earlier this week, and the Tehran meeting led traders to reduce the risk premium further. Crude [extended its losses](https://www.investing.com/news/commodities-news/oil-extends-losses-as-iran-mediation-efforts-ease-escalation-fears-4973997), and Brent [traded near $114.70 to $114.88 a barrel](https://hdfcsky.com/news/brent-crude-oil-price-today-october-27-2026-brent-falls-below-115-wti-slips-to-100-8-as-middle-east-peace-hopes-emerge), down about 0.8% on the day. West Texas Intermediate slipped toward $100.80. Prices now rest on the hope that the talks will reduce attacks, while UKMTO continues to report tankers struck in the strait.

## What this means

Three regional powers that each have something to lose from escalation are now acting together as intermediaries. Saudi Arabia wants the Houthi attacks to stop. Pakistan wants a quiet western border. Turkey wants to be the broker the other parties rely on. None of them can deliver Washington's terms, and none can compel Iran, so the talks can lower tension but cannot settle the US-Iran dispute. The oil market has priced the meeting as a de-escalation signal, but a two-session fall from a six-month high removes only a small part of the risk premium. Brent above $110 still reflects shipping through Hormuz that remains well below normal. The relevant precedent is the 2023 China-brokered Saudi-Iran normalization. It reduced direct friction but did not end proxy attacks in Yemen. The likelier outcome over the coming weeks is a partial reduction in Houthi strikes on Saudi territory, not a full reopening of Hormuz, which depends on Washington and Tehran. That would keep Brent above $100. A joint announcement on safe passage for commercial tankers would prove that read too cautious, and a new Houthi strike on Saudi oil infrastructure would end the de-escalation trade.

## What to watch

- The number of ship attacks UKMTO confirms in the days after the Tehran meeting. A clear decline would show that the talks are changing what the IRGC does at sea. Continued strikes would mean the drop in oil prices depends only on statements from the talks.
- The gap between Iran's claims of tankers hit and what UKMTO and flag states confirm. If independent monitors confirm more of Iran's claims, shipowners and insurers would face higher costs. If the gap stays wide, Trump's charge that Iran is exaggerating its attacks to raise oil prices would carry more weight with oil traders.
- Whether the US keeps helping commercial ships through the strait after Iran's threat to target US bases. More US involvement would raise the risk of direct fighting between the US and Iran. Less involvement could cut the volume of oil leaving the Gulf.
- Whether Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia stop after the talks. Halting those attacks was on the Makkah pact agenda, and a pause would be the first concrete sign that Tehran has used its influence in Yemen.