Turkish, U.S. top diplomats discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts in call.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the latest state efforts to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in a phone call on Wednesday, Turkey’s foreign ministry spokesperson said.

Spokesperson Oncu Keceli also said the call had taken place at the request of the U.S. side, adding the two ministers also discussed regional developments. He did not provide any further details.According to local Egyptian website citing a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs the two top diplomats discussed by phone the current developments in the region.

Ahmed Abu Zeid, the spokesman of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized that the phone call was made in the framework of Egypt’s many efforts to contain the tension in the region and Cairo’s attention to continuous communication with all influential regional and international parties to reduce heightened tension in the region.

Also, according to statement of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bagheri and Badr Abdelatty discussed Egypt’s efforts to establish a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in the phone call.

According to this statement, the Egyptian diplomat emphasized that Egypt will not spare any efforts to end the unprecedented human suffering of the Palestinian nation and that the international community has understood more than ever the necessity of a ceasefire and the signing of a prisoner exchange agreement.

He also emphasized the need to prevent the dangers of spread of the war to the other parts of the region and informed his Iranian counterpart about Egypt’s contacts with countries in the region and the world to deescalate the regional tension.

According to the Egyptian foreign ministry’s statement, Bagheri Kani, for his part, thanked Cairo for the ongoing efforts of Egypt and living up to its responsibility towards the cessation of the war in Gaza and reaching peace.

The acting Iranian foreign minister also stressed the need for continuation of the contacts between the two countries in line with the efforts to reach stability in the region.

According to the readout of the conversation released by the Iranian foreign ministry later, in the phone call, Bagheri Kani noted that Washington cannot be an impartial mediator in the ongoing Gaza peace talks in Doha with the Zionist Israeli regime.

The top Iranian diplomat said that “By openly supporting the crime of the Zionists, the US has proven that it is an accomplice in its crimes and cannot be an impartial mediator,”

The US “is continuously trying to put hurdles in the path towards stopping the crime of the occupying regime,” he added.

He further stressed that “Iran reserves its inherent and legitimate right to legitimately respond to the Zionist regime’s crime in the assassination of Martyr Haniyeh, and the Palestinian people will not surrender to the Zionist regime with their exemplary courage.”