ISTANBUL

Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Sunday discussed efforts to end the ongoing war in the Middle East with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, and Pakistani officials.

Fidan held separate phone calls with Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and Pakistani officials, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.

Earlier, the Turkish foreign minister held calls with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and officials from the US to discuss "the steps to end" the war.

No further information on the calls was provided.

Regional escalation has continued to flare since the US and Israel launched a joint offensive on Iran on Feb. 28, killing so far over 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, along with Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global markets and aviation.

Iran has also effectively closed to most ships the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil transit route that normally handles about 20 million barrels per day and roughly 20% of global liquefied natural gas trade.