US and Israel warned against fresh strikes on Iran at Istanbul summit
Foreign ministers of eight European and Middle Eastern countries, meeting at an Istanbul summit convened by Turkey, urged the US and Israel not to launch fresh strikes on Iran, warning a new outbreak of fighting would spread conflict and push oil prices higher.
US and Israel warned against fresh strikes on Iran at Istanbul summit
Foreign ministers from eight European and Middle Eastern countries gathered in Istanbul and urged the US and Israel not to renew their attacks on Iran, warning that a fresh outbreak of fighting would spread conflict across the region and push oil prices higher. The summit was jointly convened by Turkey.
Fidan: military intervention is no solution
Hakan Fidan, the Turkish foreign minister and joint convener of the Istanbul summit, said a new military attack on Iran would spread war and conflict in the region.
"Military intervention in Iran is not any kind of solution."
Fidan added that all the countries around the table did not want the war to spread even more, once again.
Who attended the unprecedented gathering
The meeting was described as an unprecedented gathering of regional and European leaders, initiated by Turkey and Germany.
The Middle Eastern delegations were led by:
- Hakan Fidan of Turkey
- Badr Abdelatty of Egypt
- Ishaq Dar of Pakistan
- Faisal bin Farhan of Saudi Arabia
Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia formed the Mecca defensive security pact in August, a grouping Egypt may join. On the European side, the ministers present were Jean-Noël Barrot of France, Ed Miliband of the UK, Johann Wadephul of Germany and Antonio Tajani of Italy. European governments have largely stood aside from Middle East crises, apart from sending air force protection to Saudi Arabia as it fends off Houthi drone and missile assaults on its airports and energy installations.
Oil prices and the strait of Hormuz
The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, said another war between Iran and the US would be bad for both sides and would only worsen rising oil prices, which have hit their highest level since May.
The ministers also demanded an immediate opening of the strait of Hormuz, currently blockaded by Iranian ships and drones, and called for an end to the Houthi assaults on Saudi Arabia.
Diplomacy over escalation
The UK foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, urged both sides to embrace diplomacy. The German minister, Johann Wadephul, said the countries are united by the impact these deadlocked conflicts are having on the economy and security of their countries and by the will to seek new solutions. He made no criticism of the US but accused "the Houthis and Iran of blackmailing world trade and continuing to stranglehold global supplies of energy and fertiliser".
Antonio Tajani, Italy's foreign minister, said the aim of the meeting was to work for "de-escalation to guarantee freedom of navigation", adding that he did not believe the Hormuz problem could be solved from a purely military standpoint and that dialogue is needed to reopen the strait, which is vital for European economies.
The gathering amounts to a new multinational anti-war bloc, a challenge to increasingly open US and Israeli plans to relaunch strikes on Iran while nuclear talks with Tehran remain deadlocked.
