European, Middle East ministers urge US-Iran diplomacy, not new attacks

A further escalation would ‘create nothing but losers’, the French foreign minister warns after joint Istanbul meeting.

Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Britain's Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani during their meeting in Istanbul on Friday [Murad Sezer/Reuters]

Foreign ministers from eight countries are cautioning the United States against further attacks on Iran after meeting in Turkiye’s capital to discuss the Strait of Hormuz and other regional developments.

Ministers from the United Kingdom, France and Germany, known as the E3, convened with counterparts from the R4 group of Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt on Friday, along with Italy.

list 1 of 4 Iran says seven ships hit in Hormuz Strait, warns US of wider response

list 2 of 4 Are global oil reserves sufficient to withstand renewed US-Iran war?

list 3 of 4 ‘Life will not be easy for Europe this year,’ IEA chief warns

list 4 of 4 US-Iran war, then and now: How the landscape has changed since February

Speaking after the meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that none of the countries participating in the meeting approved of another military intervention or attack on Iran.

Such a move would only exacerbate tensions and further expand the conflict, he said, adding that diplomacy and dialogue were the only way to end the war.

A further escalation between Iran and the US “would create nothing but losers and would undoubtedly have very serious consequences for hydrocarbon prices,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters.

“And so the first thing this group of eight countries … will do is call on both sides to exercise the utmost restraint, because we cannot afford another escalation in the region,” he added.

Italy’s Antonio Tajani said the aim was to work for “de-escalation to guarantee freedom of navigation.”

“I do not believe the problem can be solved from a purely military standpoint,” he said, noting that “we must promote dialogue” in order to reopen Hormuz.

The group also discussed Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, escalating fighting in Yemen and prospects for ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

Turkiye’s regional efforts

The meeting at an Istanbul hotel came as Turkiye seeks to bolster its role in the region, including through the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement , the trilateral pact launched with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in August.

Turkiye has said that the pact is not aimed at any specific country and remains open to others joining, including Egypt.

Fidan told reporters the pact has “several advantages, particularly because it is informal and flexible and focuses specifically on the issues we face.”

“We are not aware of any other platform that brings together countries with such different geographical and political backgrounds,” he said, noting that Ankara “is well placed to play a constructive role in this process”.

Cairo has yet to decide whether to join the agreement. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi recently said that Egypt would “carry out any measure to protect” Saudi Arabia.

The Iran-backed Houthis are fighting Yemen’s Saudi-backed internationally recognised government forces and have launched a series of deadly attacks on Saudi Arabia.

法国外长在伊斯坦布尔联合会议后警告说，局势进一步升级“只会造成输家”。

德国外交部长约翰·瓦德普尔、英国外交大臣埃德·米利班德和意大利外交与国际合作部长安东尼奥·塔亚尼周五在伊斯坦布尔举行会晤。[穆拉德·塞泽尔/路透社]

来自八个国家的部长在土耳其首都举行会议，讨论霍尔木兹海峡和其他地区局势发展，会后他们警告美国不要对伊朗发动进一步的袭击。

周五，被称为“E3”的英国、法国和德国部长与土耳其、沙特阿拉伯、巴基斯坦和埃及组成的“R4”集团的部长以及意大利部长举行了会晤。

伊朗称七艘船只在霍尔木兹海峡遭到袭击，警告美国将采取更大规模的报复行动（共四条记录，此为第一条）。

问题 2（共 4 个）：全球石油储备是否足以抵御美伊战争的再次爆发？

列表 3/4：国际能源署署长警告称，“今年欧洲的日子不好过”

列表 4（共 4 项）美伊战争：过去与现在：自二月以来局势发生了哪些变化

会后，土耳其外交部长哈坎·菲丹表示，参加会议的各国均不赞成再次对伊朗进行军事干预或攻击。

他表示，这样的举动只会加剧紧张局势，进一步扩大冲突，并补充说，外交和对话才是结束战争的唯一途径。

法国外交部长让-诺埃尔·巴罗特告诉记者，伊朗和美国之间的进一步升级“只会造成双输，而且无疑会对油气价格产生非常严重的后果”。

“因此，这八个国家组成的集团首先要做的事情……就是呼吁双方保持最大限度的克制，因为我们承受不起该地区局势的进一步升级，”他补充道。

意大利的安东尼奥·塔亚尼表示，目标是努力“缓和局势，以保障航行自由”。

“我不认为这个问题可以从纯粹的军事角度解决，”他说道，并指出“我们必须促进对话”才能重新开放霍尔木兹海峡。

该小组还讨论了以色列对加沙的种族灭绝战争、也门不断升级的战斗以及结束俄乌战争的前景。

土耳其的区域努力

此次在伊斯坦布尔一家酒店举行的会议，正值土耳其寻求加强其在该地区的作用之际，包括通过《麦加联合防御协议》，这是土耳其与巴基斯坦和沙特阿拉伯于 8 月启动的三边协议。

土耳其方面表示，该协议并非针对任何特定国家，并欢迎其他国家加入，包括埃及。

菲丹告诉记者，该协议“有几个优点，特别是因为它非正式、灵活，并且专门针对我们面临的问题”。

他说：“我们还没有发现任何其他平台能够将地理和政治背景如此不同的国家聚集在一起”，并指出安卡拉“完全有能力在这个进程中发挥建设性作用”。

开罗尚未决定是否加入该协议。埃及总统阿卜杜勒·法塔赫·塞西近日表示，埃及将“采取一切措施保护”沙特阿拉伯。

伊朗支持的胡塞武装正在与沙特阿拉伯支持的、国际公认的也门政府军作战，并对沙特阿拉伯发动了一系列致命袭击。