US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met on Thursday with British Foreign Secretary David Lamy and held separate phone calls with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot and Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. The discussions focused on the war between US ally Israel and its regional rival Iran, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
A State Department statement stressed that all participants were united that “Iran must never develop or acquire nuclear weapons“. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed this position in a post on the social network X, adding that the situation in the Middle East “remains dangerous“, but “a window for a diplomatic solution exists within the next two weeks“.
The conflict between Israel and Iran began on June 13 with an Israeli air strike on Iranian territory. Since then, tensions have escalated in a region that has already been severely destabilized by Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The White House said President Donald Trump would decide within two weeks whether the United States would directly intervene in the conflict. So far, the president has alternated between statements that ranged from calls for a quick diplomatic settlement to hints at possible military support for Israel. Trump is expected to attend a National Security Council meeting on Friday morning.
Israel, considered the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, says its attacks on Iran are aimed at stopping Iran's nuclear program. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Tehran is a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while Israel is not.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, Israeli airstrikes have killed 639 people in Iran. Israeli authorities have reported at least two dozen civilian casualties as a result of Iranian attacks.
In an effort to avoid further escalation, the foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany and the European Union will meet with the Iranian foreign minister in Geneva on Friday to discuss options for de-escalating the conflict.