'Israel has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Occupied Palestinian Territory amid continuing genocide in Gaza, UN Commission of Inquiry finds' ohchr.org/en/press-releases/…

A few days ago Professor Ishtiaq Ahmad, who is a kind man, was issuing harsh edicts against Iran's "sinister" designs and "stubborn" disposition - now after the meeting of the so-called Mecca alliance, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkiye, with Iran's political and security leadership, in Tehran, the professor is singing a slightly different tune. all that bluster and bravado, built up during days of rage, gone in a whimper...

"The meeting of leaders from the Mecca alliance member states - Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan - with Iranian officials in Tehran is “a struggle over the future political order of the Middle East”, says the former commander of the Pakistan Army’s Frontier Corps. “The Mecca alliance may yet evolve into a meaningful regional security arrangement”, retired Lieutenant General Tariq Khan told Al Jazeera, adding that Iran’s inclusion into any such framework “will determine its success or failure”. Khan said debates over future security arrangements in the region include "the place of Israel within that order and the extent to which regional states are prepared to accommodate its policies". “The question is no longer merely how the [US-Iran] war will conclude, but what regional order might replace the one that preceded it”, he said.

"The US inability to impose conditions on Iran militarily shows, “a fundamental difference between destroying targets and compelling an adversary to accept one’s preferred political settlement”, a former Pakistan army commander told Al Jazeera. “The implications for the balance of leverage are considerable”, retired Lieutenant Tariq Khan added, referring to Iran’s maximalist negotiating position, insisting that a wider range of demands be addressed by the US as precondition for further negotiations. “The changing negotiating positions provide a strong basis for arguing that Iran may have secured a strategic advantage, even if the final outcome remains unresolved”, he said." aje.news/6ljx5f?update=50873…

Saudi defence minister Khalid bin Salman, Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin and Pakistan army chief meeting with Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian and Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei in Tehran - Itinerary shared by kingdom’s main wire service: Mecca Agreement for Joint Defense in Tehran schedule : • Meeting with the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. • Meeting with the Secretary-General of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei. • Discussion of efforts to de-escalate between the parties to the current crisis. • Encouragement of dialogue and diplomatic solutions. • Support for Qatari and Pakistani mediation efforts. • Strengthening regional security and stability.