Not New Attacks on Iran, but Diplomacy: Eight Foreign Ministers in Istanbul Send Washington a Joint Message

Foreign 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. Their message afterwards came in a single key: not the military path, but diplomacy and dialogue as the only way to end the war.

The meeting brought together the United Kingdom, France and Germany — known as the E3 — with counterparts from the R4 group of Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt, along with Italy. The eight ministers sat down together in Istanbul on Friday.

Speaking after the meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said none of the participating countries 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 diplomacy and dialogue were the only way to end the war.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told reporters that a further escalation between Iran and the US “would create nothing but losers and would undoubtedly have very serious consequences for hydrocarbon prices”. “And so the first thing this group of eight countries will do is call on both sides to exercise the utmost restraint, because we cannot afford another escalation in the region,” he added.

Italy's Antonio Tajani said the aim was to work for “de-escalation to guarantee freedom of navigation”. “I do not believe the problem can be solved from a purely military standpoint,” he said, noting that “we must promote dialogue” in order to reopen Hormuz.

Yet even as the ministers issued their warning, Washington was sending the opposite signal. The US Ambassador to Turkiye, Tom Barrack, said Washington could “absolutely” strike Iran this weekend. Speaking to X podcast host Mario Nawfal, Barrack said that although President Trump is “open and available and accessible to a deal”, he has also “been very clear about what he wants”. Barrack claimed any potential US military action against Iran would not be aimed at regime change, saying Trump is “interested in rebalancing so that there's no hostages, no threats, and the world can calm down”.

Reporting from Istanbul described the eight-nation summit as a “first-of-its-kind” attempt to discuss the parameters of regional conflicts and possible solutions. The participating countries all have different national interests, especially on the Gulf crisis, but the Turkish foreign minister underlined that what is happening in the Gulf is affecting other parts of the world.

The ministers also discussed Israel's war on Gaza, the escalating fighting in Yemen and prospects for ending the Russia-Ukraine war — a sign that, for them, the Iran question is not an isolated file: Hormuz, Gaza and Yemen are three crises knotted together.

The meeting, held at an Istanbul hotel, came as Turkiye seeks to bolster its role in the region, including through the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, the trilateral pact launched with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in August. Fidan told reporters the pact has “several advantages, particularly because it is informal and flexible and focuses specifically on the issues we face”. Ankara says the pact is not aimed at any specific country and remains open to others joining, including Egypt. “We are not aware of any other platform that brings together countries with such different geographical and political backgrounds,” he said, noting that Ankara “is well placed to play a constructive role”.

Cairo has yet to decide whether to join the agreement. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi recently said Egypt would “carry out any measure to protect” Saudi Arabia — a signal that Egypt's place in the regional security architecture is still taking shape.

In Yemen, meanwhile, the Iran-backed Houthis are fighting the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government and have launched a series of deadly attacks on Saudi Arabia — attacks whose fallout has even disrupted flights between Dhaka and Riyadh–Dammam. Against that backdrop, the eight ministers' appeal reaches beyond US-Iran tensions to the region's entire security picture.

The question now is how much weight Istanbul's collective diplomatic pressure carries in Washington. Set against the US ambassador's remark that a strike could come “this weekend”, the call for restraint from allies and regional states points the other way. In the coming days it should become clear which of these two signals prevails — and whether the Hormuz crisis moves to the negotiating table or towards a new military chapter.