European Council President Antonio Costa, in a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, has urged Iran to engage in “de-escalation and restraint”.
In a post on X, Costa termed the situation in the Middle East “extremely dangerous, and said that he had urged the Iranian president for “de-escalation and restraint, the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and the need for all parties to fully respect international law”.
“The loss of innocent lives, including in the Minab school, is deeply regrettable,” he said.
Costa said that he had also urged Iran to “stop the unacceptable attacks on countries in the region”. He called on the Iranian president to “engage positively on the diplomatic track, notably with the United Nations, to ensure the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz”.
“There must be space for diplomacy,” Costa stressed, expressing the European Union’s readiness to contribute to diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
