Egyptian Foreign Minister urges European diplomats to initiate "downgrade" dialogue with Iran.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry recently separately had telephone conversations with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and British National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell to discuss the escalating tensions between Iran and Israel. In a statement following the calls, Shoukry emphasized that the "E3 group" composed of the UK, Germany, and France should take responsibility and open dialogue and negotiation channels with Iran, and utilize all existing communication channels to seek a compromise in order to de-escalate the situation.