Al Jazeera:
Foreign ministers from eight countries are cautioning the United States against further attacks on Iran after meeting in Turkiye 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.
Speaking after the meeting in Istanbul, 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 warnings came as the US ambassador to Turkiye, Tom Barrack, said Washington could “absolutely” strike Iran this weekend.
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