Tensions rose further this week as the US deployed warships in the region and in response Iran carried out live-fire military drills in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Political analysts have expressed their worry that any escalation or military strike may risk starting a wider confrontation that could draw various countries in and negatively affect Gulf maritime routes and the stability of the Middle East region.
As a result, Egypt together with Turkey and Qatar are calling for the resumption of US-Iran talks to avoid a broad conflict.
The three states are trying to arrange a meeting between White House Envoy Steve Witkoff and senior Iranian officials in the Turkish capital Ankara later this week. No date had been declared as Al-Ahram Weekly went to print.
The Egyptian and regional efforts to arrange a meeting in Ankara soon together with recent statements from US President Donald Trump and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi can be regarded as a positive sign and an indication that the parties are keen to resolve the issue peacefully in spite of the escalation, said a diplomat who preferred to speak anonymously.
Realising the danger of escalation, Egypt has repeated the importance of reaching a peaceful solution that will end the Iranian standoff peacefully.
Early this week, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi expressed Egypt’s deep concern regarding the escalating tensions in the region.
In a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Al-Sisi underlined the need to avoid escalation and reject any military solution, pointing out that the diplomatic track is the only and best way to settle the crisis in a manner that ensures saving the region further tension and instability.
He explained to his Iranian counterpart that Egypt is making every effort to bring the US and Iran back to the negotiating table to resolve the issue peacefully in a way that maintains regional and international stability, according to Official Spokesman for the Presidency Mohamed Al-Shennawi.
Al- Shennawi added that Pezeshkian had expressed his appreciation for the positive role that Egypt is playing to avert escalation and maintain security and stability in the region.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty urged the US and Iran to resume talks and reach a “peaceful, consensual settlement”, according to the Foreign Ministry. During last week and this week, he held separate phone calls with counterparts from Iran, Qatar, Turkey, and Oman, as well as with Witkoff, to discuss regional developments and efforts to de-escalate tensions.
He underlined the necessity of sticking to the diplomatic path and preparing the ground for the resumption of dialogue between Washington and Tehran in order to reach a comprehensive agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme that meet the needs and the interests of all parties and contributes to security and stability on the regional and international levels.
Iran has repeatedly stated that it is ready for dialogue. On Sunday, Araghchi said that Tehran is open to resuming negotiations with the US but stressed that trust should be built first.
“We have lost our trust in the US as a negotiating partner. We need to overcome this mistrust… It is difficult, but efforts are being made,” he told the US network CNN.
He sounded optimistic when he added that renewed talks could be possible if the US negotiating team follows Trump’s stated goal of coming to a fair and equitable deal.
He also said that his country is “ready for fair and equitable negotiations,” during a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan last week, adding that Iran has “never sought to obtain nuclear weapons”.
Araghchi’s visit to Turkey came amid growing international pressure on Tehran and Iran’s desire to resolve the issue peacefully.
Ankara suggested that it could mediate between Tehran and Washington. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Pezeshkian that Turkey was ready to assume a mediating role between Iran and the US to de-escalate the tensions and resolve the issues of difference.
Trump also toned down his threats against Iran last week, saying he hoped to avoid military action and adding that talks were on the cards with Iran.
“We have a group headed out to a place called Iran, and hopefully we won’t have to use it [military force],” Trump told the media.
Egypt’s earlier efforts to resolve the nuclear issue peacefully resulted in brokering an agreement between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in September last year. The agreement enables the UN nuclear watchdog to resume inspections of Iran’s nuclear programme.
Tehran suspended its co-operation with the IAEA after the US and Israel launched airstrikes against its most-important nuclear facilities in June last year.
But tensions between the US and Iran have escalated in recent weeks following an Iranian crackdown on anti-government protests, prompting threats of possible US military action.
The US moved a naval fleet into the region, with Trump warning time was “running out” for Tehran and putting pressure on Iran to make a deal on its nuclear programme.
Iran has condemned the US deployments, saying continued pressure would further destabilise the region and insisting that diplomacy, rather than coercion, is the only way to address the nuclear issue.
Iran was further angered when the European Union agreed last week to list Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation over alleged crackdown on domestic protests.
Araghchi criticised the move in a post on X, saying several countries were working to prevent a wider war in the region and adding that “none of them are European”.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 5 February, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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