Foreign ministers from eight countries met in Istanbul on 23 October and urged restraint over Iran, warning that a renewed attack would widen the regional conflict. The meeting brought together ministers from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt, in the first collective meeting of that format, according to Reuters.

A shared warning

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who hosted the talks, said after the meeting that all participants agreed a new attack on Iran would expand the war in the region. He said military intervention was not a solution and that diplomacy and dialogue were the only way to end the war. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said renewed escalation between Iran and the United States would only have losers and would raise oil prices.

Energy and shipping on the agenda

The ministers also discussed attacks on Saudi Arabia by Iran-backed Houthi militants, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the security of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for international oil shipments. Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani linked dialogue to restoring freedom of navigation through Hormuz, while the group also discussed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the mouth of the Red Sea.

What happens next

Participants agreed to keep meeting regularly, with the next meeting expected in Germany, according to reports of the talks. No concrete decision was reported from the Istanbul session, and the ministers did not claim to have secured a commitment from Washington or Tehran. The meeting followed a New York Times report that US and Israeli militaries had drawn up plans for renewed strikes after the US midterm election, a report that underlines why the eight governments chose to press publicly for diplomacy.