Turkish FM holds calls on ending Iran war

2026-03-22 - 15:14

On Sunday, a Turkish diplomatic source disclosed that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan reached out to multiple capitals to advance efforts to end the war between Iran, Israel, and the United States, Reuters reported, engaging counterparts in Tehran and Cairo, as well as European and American officials. The four conversations – held independently – brought Fidan into contact with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, and US officials. The diplomatic efforts come against a backdrop of sharp escalation over the past 24 hours – one that threatens to destabilize global energy and financial markets and deepen the regional crisis. Tensions reached a new peak on Saturday, when US President Donald Trump threatened to "obliterate" Iran's power stations if Tehran did not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours – just one day after Trump had spoken of scaling back the fighting, which has now entered its fourth week. In response to the American threat, Iran warned Sunday morning that it would strike US infrastructure, including energy facilities in the Gulf and in Israel, if Trump followed through on his threats. US President Donald Trump (Photo: AP) The escalation is unfolding against a backdrop of Washington's frustration over European countries' refusal to help secure the Strait – particularly Britain under Prime Minister Keir Starmer – after Iran unsuccessfully attempted to fire two ballistic missiles at the British-American military base at Diego Garcia. Despite the attempted attack, British leadership stressed it would not participate in combat operations against Iran, and that there was no assessment to believe Iran intended to strike European capitals – even after Israel warned that Iran's ballistic missiles have developed ranges capable of reaching them. On Friday, the president said at the White House that he had no interest in a ceasefire in the joint US-Israeli war against Iran. "Look, we can have a dialogue, but I don't want a ceasefire," Trump told reporters. "You know, you don't make a ceasefire when you're crushing the other side." As of now, Ankara's diplomatic contacts have yet to produce any concrete results.