Calls mount for diplomacy in Middle East

Regional leaders have doubled down on their calls to return to diplomacy after tensions escalated to a dizzying phase as the United States, Israel, and Iran kept up their strikes across the Middle East.

On Friday, nearly a week into the conflict, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates continued to thwart Iranian strikes as Israel launched fresh strikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah, while the US targeted Iran, where at least 20 people have been killed and 30 injured.

In Iran, at least 1,332 people have been killed by the US and Israeli joint attacks since Feb 28, according to the Iranian Red Crescent.

In Israel, the air force said it conducted a "broad-scale wave" of 26 strikes in the Dahieh area of Lebanon, targeting "Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure".

It also claimed that measures were taken to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians before the strikes.

Residents in Dubai continued to receive attack alerts on their phones on Friday, while France's Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said a total of 52 French ships were currently blocked in the Gulf region and another eight in the Red Sea.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it had shot down an Israeli Heron drone flying over the central city of Isfahan.

On Friday, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake became the latest world leader to call for peace.

"No civilian should die in wars. Our approach is that every life is as precious as our own. We jealously guard our nonaligned policy while ensuring that humanitarian values and the saving of lives remain our top priority," said the president in a post on X.

Dissanayake also urged all parties "to demonstrate a firm commitment to peace".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that tensions in the Middle East have reached an alarming level following airstrikes on Iran, as he vowed to intensify diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation. However, Erdogan also said if a risk to Turkiye's security arises, they would take all necessary measures to coordinate with allies, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Turkiye, he said, would continue multi-faceted diplomatic efforts to prevent further bloodshed in the region and stop tensions from escalating to an irreversible point.

A similar call was made by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, noting that Cairo was pursuing mediation efforts to halt the fighting, according to a statement.

Essential needs stressed

During a ceremony on Friday organized by the Egyptian Military Academy, the Egyptian president said the war reflected miscalculations and misjudgments. He warned that the current crisis could affect prices and cautioned against exploiting the situation to raise or manipulate them.

Sisi also stressed that Egypt is in a state of near emergency and that people's essential needs must not be compromised.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said Iran is being "demolished" ahead of schedule and "at levels people have never seen before", claiming the country now has "no air force, no air defense" and the "navy is gone".

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said in an interview with NBC News that Iran does not want a ceasefire with the US and Israel after being attacked twice during recent negotiations.

Meanwhile, two US officials told Reuters that US military investigators believe it is likely that US forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school that killed scores of children last Saturday but have not yet reached a final conclusion or completed their investigation.

The girls' school in Minab, in southern Iran, was hit during the first day of US and Israeli attacks on the country. According to state media, Iran on Tuesday held funerals for at least 165 people including students killed.

Agencies contributed to this story.

jan@chinadailyapac.com