Baghdad: Gulf security framework talks without outside powers are needed after renewed U.S.-Iran escalation, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in Iraq on Sunday.
Araghchi made the remarks at a news conference in Baghdad after Iranian strikes targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait.
“We should reach a new framework that includes all countries in the region and without the presence or interference of any country from outside the region,” Araghchi said. He welcomed an Iraqi proposal for talks involving Iran, Iraq and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Araghchi spoke alongside Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein as Baghdad pushed for regional diplomacy after the latest military exchanges.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it launched missiles and drones at the U.S. Fifth Fleet site in Bahrain and Ali Al Salem air base in Kuwait.
The IRGC said the attacks were in response to U.S. strikes on Iranian coastal military targets. Washington has said its strikes followed Iranian attacks linked to the Strait of Hormuz.
Read: Iran Strikes US Bases in Kuwait, Bahrain
Araghchi also said Iran held responsibility for maritime traffic arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz. He warned that challenges over the waterway would increase tensions.
In Lebanon, Araghchi said the first clause of the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding required an end to hostilities.
He said Washington bore responsibility for stopping Israeli attacks and securing an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
