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.Published On 23 Oct 202623 Oct 2026Foreign 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.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Iran says seven ships hit in Hormuz Strait, warns US of wider responselist 2 of 4Are 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 warnslist 4 of 4US-Iran war, then and now: How the landscape has changed since Februaryend of listSpeaking 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 diplomac...