Key facts
- Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty expressed extreme concern about a potential escalation in the US-Iran conflict.
- He stated that a new round of hostilities would be more destructive than previous encounters.
- An interim agreement in June failed to secure a lasting ceasefire or restore normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Saturday he was "extremely worried" that a new escalation in the war between the United States and Iran would be more destructive and have a major impact. Speaking at the IISS Manama Dialogue security summit in Bahrain, Abdelatty stated that a second round of hostilities would be more dangerous, more destructive, and would lead to nowhere. An interim agreement reached in June failed to secure a lasting ceasefire in the Iran war or restore normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has since proposed that Washington lift its blockade of Iranian ports in exchange for Tehran reopening the disrupted waterway within seven days. Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday in a renewed effort to broker a deal, but the sides remain divided over whether nuclear negotiations or relief from the blockade and oil sanctions should come first.