The foreign ministers of Egypt and Iran discuss developments in the regional situation

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Egyptians Abroad, Badr Abdel Ati, held a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday. The call discussed the latest developments on the regional scene and the efforts made to contain the current tensions, according to the German News Agency.

Ambassador Nader Zaki, the official spokesman for the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, explained that the call witnessed an exchange of visions regarding the recent developments in the region, and the concerns they raise about the possibilities of renewed military confrontations and their repercussions on regional and international security and stability.

Minister Abdel-Ati stressed the importance of giving priority to diplomatic solutions and for all parties to show the necessary degree of openness, which allows reaching a political settlement of the crisis by showing the necessary flexibility and reaching compromise solutions that achieve the interests of all parties and prevent the region from sliding into a new wave of escalation, and the major political, economic and humanitarian repercussions that may result from it on the region and the entire world.

The Turkish Parliament approved the “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement” signed with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, according to what Turkish official media reported on Friday.

The agreement signed between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan stipulated that any attack on any of them is an attack on all of them.

Parliament approved the agreement by 279 votes to 119, according to what was reported by the official Anatolia News Agency.

The representative of the presidential “Justice and Development Party”, Ziya Altun Yildiz, said during the deliberations in Parliament, that the agreement is not directed against any country, and that its aim is not to escalate conflicts, but rather to prevent their outbreak, according to the Anadolu Agency.

Satellite images showed indications of extensive construction work near two major missile bases in Iran, and the repair of military sites damaged by American and Israeli strikes in the war on Tehran, according to an analysis published by the verification team at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Analysts at the British intelligence company Mayar said that photos taken in November showed excavation work and new buildings at the Ghoram Dara base in the city of Karaj, near Tehran, and the Shahroud base in the north of the country.

Indications of repairs were observed at at least 12 other military sites, including the erection of new roofs for destroyed buildings at the Kermanshah missile base, and the removal of rubble at the Parchin military complex.

Underground facilities

Jim Lamson, a former analyst at the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), suggested that the excavations near Shahrud are linked to missile production, indicating the possibility that the Revolutionary Guard may seek to move the production facilities underground to protect them.

Researcher Sam Lear, of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said that the images of Karaj appear to show “a new entrance to an underground facility.” Excavations were also observed outside the entrances to tunnels near Qom, close to the Fordow nuclear facility.

Ready for new attacks

The actions come after Washington confirmed that the strikes severely weakened Iran's military capabilities. On the other hand, Tehran says it maintains large missile stocks, and its state television broadcast scenes that it said showed dozens of missiles at the entrance to an underground facility.

Mark Cancian, a military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, considered that these activities indicate Iran's readiness for additional attacks, and its prioritization of rebuilding its military capabilities at the expense of reviving the economy.