A group of Middle East countries plans to launch diplomatic talks on Saturday aimed at “reintegrating Iran” in the region, an Arab diplomatic source told MBN.
The initiative, which includes Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, will run parallel to U.S.-Iranian negotiations and is slated to begin a day after the planned signing of a memorandum of understanding formalizing the cessation of armed conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
The initiative aims to “contain Iran’s regional influence,” the source said, even as regional powers acknowledge Tehran’s continued influence, especially in Lebanon.
The prospect of those multilateral talks emerged among a flurry of diplomatic activity this week. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke by phone Monday with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. On Sunday Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a tentative agreement between the U.S. and Iran to end the war.
In a press release, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said the call with the Saudi minister focused on ending the war across all fronts, “including the Lebanese arena.”
Egypt plans to reintroduce an initiative on Lebanon that predated the recent fighting, the Arab diplomat told MBN.
Cairo began the push last November, when Abdelatty visited Beirut and pledged support for the Lebanese government’s effort to restore the state’s control of weaponry and for the army to deploy in the south, where Iranian-backed Hezbollah has long held sway.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar on Monday thanked Egypt and Saudi Arabia, in a tweet, saying the U.S.-Iranian peace agreement “will pave the way for regional stability.”
But the Arab diplomat warned against overestimating the outcome of the regional track, citing the initiative’s ties to the complex files of the U.S.-Iranian talks.
