R4 foreign ministers urged a negotiated end to the Iran conflict and called for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned another attack could widen the war.
Anadolu Agency reported Friday that Fidan spoke to reporters after an R4+E3 meeting in Istanbul attended by ministers from Türkiye, Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy. “Military intervention in Iran is by no means a solution,” Fidan said.
A joint statement from the R4 ministers — Türkiye, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia — supported dialogue on the conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran. It backed the Islamabad memorandum of understanding and urged the parties to pursue talks toward a lasting settlement. The statement called for safe, unimpeded commercial passage through Hormuz to be restored.
The ministers warned that threats to maritime traffic could interrupt energy, food and fertilizer shipments, putting vulnerable communities in the region and elsewhere at risk. They said the R4 countries would maintain close coordination.
Separately, an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesman said in an Oct. 21 interview with Student News Network that an attack would draw an offensive response. EconoTimes previously covered the spokesman’s warning.
