CAIRO, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres discussed Egypt's efforts to de-escalate regional tensions during a phone call on Friday, according to a statement by the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
Guterres expressed his appreciation for Egypt's mediation efforts, carried out in cooperation with Türkiye and Pakistan, to support direct negotiations between the United States and Iran, affirming the UN's support for these efforts aimed at regional de-escalation.
He also praised Cairo's commitment to the UN Charter and its role in promoting international peace and security.
The two sides exchanged views on the military escalation in the region and its impact on freedom of navigation and supply chains critical to food and energy security, according to the statement.
For his part, Abdelatty welcomed the appointment of Jean Arnault as the UN chief's personal envoy on the Middle East conflict, and expressed his readiness to cooperate with him.
On the Palestinian front, he reviewed Egypt's efforts to implement the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan, and emphasized the need to intensify efforts to protect Palestinian civilians in the West Bank from Israeli settler attacks.
Regarding Lebanon, Abdelatty called for an immediate halt to the escalation and Israeli attacks, and rejected any infringement on Lebanon's sovereignty, territorial integrity, or civilian infrastructure.
On Feb. 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and U.S. bases and assets in the Middle East. ■
