Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held separate phone calls on Sunday to discuss proposals for regional de-escalation with US Envoy Steve Witkoff and various regional counterparts, including Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi according to a Reuters report.
This is not Egypt's first diplomatic effort aimed at the conflicts de-escalation. Last month, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi met with Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah to address the challenges facing the region amid the ongoing clashes with Iran.
According to Asharq al-Awsat, they discussed “the repercussions of the military escalation in the Middle East and its impact on regional and global security and stability.”
Turkey and Pakistan
In addition to Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan have also emerged as active intermediaries in the crisis. Islamabad recently hosted a meeting to discuss regional de-escalation and proposals to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Last month, the state-run broadcaster TRT (Turkish Radio and Television Corporation) reported that “Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed the ongoing conflict with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, and Pakistani counterpart, Ishaq Dar, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.”
The report stated, “Fidan and Araghchi discussed the latest developments in the war” during a phone call.
In a separate conversation, Fidan and Dar talked about efforts to end the conflict triggered by the joint US-Israel attacks on Iran.
Reuters and Seth J. Frantzman contributed to this report.