A number of countries, particularly those in Iran’s wider neighborhood, are involved in intense diplomacy to prevent a full-scale conflict amid escalating tensions and mounting concerns of a military confrontation between Iran and the United States.
We examine the several diplomatic initiatives underway and their potential to reduce hostilities.
What is occurring between Iran and the US?
US President Donald Trump reiterated warnings of US military action in Iran on Wednesday if the country does not come to an agreement to limit its nuclear program and ballistic missile capability.
In a statement on his Truth Social site, Trump stated, “A big Armada is going to Iran.” The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is part of the US fleet of warships.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated in a post on X on Monday that the USS Abraham Lincoln had been assigned to the Middle East to “promote regional security and stability”.
One of the biggest warships in the US Navy, the ship left its home port of San Diego, California, in November and continued to operate in the South China Sea until last week.
During demonstrations against Iran’s leadership earlier this month, Trump first threatened to militarily interfere in the country. The country’s deteriorating economic circumstances sparked the protests in late December 2025. They developed into a more widespread opposition to the nation’s clerical leadership, which has ruled since the Islamic revolution in 1979.
After being assured that demonstrators would not be put to death, Trump first withdrew his threat to strike Iran, he claimed. However, he has since extended them.
Tehran has indicated that it is prepared to defend Iran and has declared that it is unwilling to engage in negotiations while under attack threat.
Kazem Gharibabadi, a senior member of the Iranian negotiation team, said Iranian state media on Wednesday that “Tehran’s goal is today not to talk with the US, but to have 200 percent readiness to defend our country.”
He said messages had been given to the US through intermediaries, but stressed that even if conditions became acceptable for negotiations, Iran would remain fully prepared to defend itself. He emphasized that the US
started an attack on its nuclear facilities in June of last year, coinciding with the start of talks to put an end to its 12-day conflict with Israel.
During that fight, there were few Israeli casualties, but Iranian missiles did manage to breach Israel’s much-vaunted “Iron Dome” defensive system, prompting panic in Tel Aviv and Washington.
The Iranian army declared on Thursday that it has acquired 1,000 new “strategic” drones to its arsenal. These drones include one-way attack drones as well as combat, reconnaissance, and cyber-capable systems that can attack stationary or moving targets on land, in the air, and at sea.
In a brief statement, army commander Amir Hamati stated, “The army’s mission involves retaining and improving strategic advantages for swift battle and a decisive response to any aggression, proportionate to the challenges facing us.”
However, in an effort to defuse the situation, Iran is also pursuing diplomatic avenues.
What diplomatic initiatives are underway?
Turkey
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, traveled to Istanbul on Friday to have high-level discussions with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, stated that Tehran wants to “constantly strengthen ties with neighbors based on shared interests” while announcing Araghchi’s meetings with the Turkish authorities.
While the actual agenda for these negotiations has not been released, the talks come amid Trump’s threats of military intervention in Iran.
Araghchi’s meeting will occur concurrently with ongoing talks between Iran’s leadership and international delegations.
Pakistan
Araghchi had a phone conversation with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday.
Dar reaffirmed Islamabad’s stance on upholding state sovereignty, rejecting meddling in the domestic affairs of other nations, and denouncing “terrorist,” according to a news release from the Iranian government.
On the same day, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The two leaders reiterated their commitment to deepening Pakistan-Iranian relations, Sharif wrote in an X post.
Egypt
In an effort to “work toward creating quiet, in order to avoid the area plunging into fresh cycles of instability,” Egypt’s top diplomat, Badr Abdelatty, said on Wednesday that he had had separate conversations with Araghchi and US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff.
Gulf countries and Saudi Arabia
In a phone conversation with Iranian President Pezeshkian on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman declared that the kingdom would “not allow its airspace or territory to be utilized for any military measures against Iran or for any strikes from any party, regardless of their origin.”
Similar promises have been made by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) not to permit a US strike on Iran from its airspace or territory.
India
Pavan Kapoor, India’s deputy national security adviser, traveled to Tehran on Wednesday to meet with Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and Ali Bagheri Kani, the deputy for international affairs.
India rejected a United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) motion denouncing Iran for its suppression of demonstrators last week.
Fourteen council members abstained from voting, while twenty-five members supported the measure. Seven countries opposed it, including China, Vietnam, Cuba, and India.
China
Besides also voting against the UNHRC resolution last week, China made a show of support for Iran at the UN on Wednesday this week.
“The use of force cannot solve problems,” stated Fu Cong, China’s permanent representative to the UN, during an open discussion on the Middle East. Any military daring will just plunge the area into an unpredictable abyss. He called on all nations to uphold the United Nations Charter and to refrain from meddling in other nations’ domestic affairs.
“China hopes that the United States and other relevant parties will hear the call of the international community and regional countries, do more things that are beneficial to peace and stability in the Middle East, and avoid escalating tensions and adding fuel to the fire,” he stated.
“We continue to call on all parties to display caution and to reject any use of force to resolve disagreements. It is obvious that there is still much room for bargaining. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, told reporters, “We must concentrate largely on negotiating procedures.”
“Any strong moves can only cause instability in the region and have extremely severe effects in terms of destabilizing the security system throughout the region.”
How about the West?
Western officials have mostly concentrated on condemning Iran’s crackdown on protestors this month and have notably stayed back from making any dramatic predictions on an impending war between Iran and the US.
Although France wishes to assist the Iranian people, “a military intervention is not the preferable choice,” according to French armed forces minister Alice Rufo, who spoke to local media on January 25.
“It is up to the Iranian people to rid themselves of this tyranny,” she continued.
However, that may have been the closest a European country has ever gotten to rejecting Trump’s military intentions. Rather, the European Council imposed new sanctions against 15 Iranian individuals and six businesses on Thursday, as Iranian authorities engaged in diplomatic outreach with regional neighbors.
“Serious human rights violations in Iran, following the violent repression of peaceful protests, including the use of violence, arbitrary detention, and intimidation tactics by security forces against demonstrators,” the Council said in a statement, justifying the imposition of these restrictions.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran was likewise declared a “terrorist organization” by the European Union.
In 2019, 2024, and 2025, respectively, the US, Canada, and Australia designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
“Any tyranny that kills thousands of its own people is moving toward its own doom,” stated European Commission Vice President Kaja Kallas in an X post on Thursday.
“France will support the placing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations,” stated French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in an X post on Wednesday.
Paris, which had previously claimed that procedural and legal barriers prohibited the EU from labeling the IRGC as a terrorist organization, reversed course on this issue.
The decisions made by the EU were harshly condemned by the Iranian authorities.
“Europe’s PR stunt primarily aims to conceal that it is an actor in terrible decline, putting aside the clear hypocrisy of its selective outrage – taking zero action in reaction to Israel’s Genocide in Gaza and rushing to “protect human rights” in Iran,” Araghchi posted on social media.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared that the Iranian government’s “days are numbered” as Trump reiterated his threats of military action in Iran on Wednesday.
At a press conference with Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, Merz declared, “A tyranny that can only hang onto power via absolute brutality and intimidation against its own population: its days are numbered.”
“Weeks may pass, but this administration lacks the authority to rule the nation.”
Could diplomacy work?
When it comes to reducing military tensions between the US and Iran, experts predict that diplomacy will probably have little effect.
The calls for de escalation from regional actors are unlikely to have a significant impact on US decisions regarding whether or not to strike Iran, according to Adnan Hayajneh, an international relations professor at Qatar University.
He declared, “[Trump] does not really care about regional actors.” “He listens to himself at the end of the day.”
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