US envoy asked Middle East foreign ministers to mediate with Iran

US President Joe Biden and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The US Middle East envoy called the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, and Iraq to ask them to deliver a message to Iran urging it to lower tensions with Israel following a suspected Israeli air strike on Iran’s embassy in Syria, a source with knowledge of the situation reported to Reuters on Wednesday.

White House Middle East czar Brett McGurk asked the officials to contact the Iranian foreign minister to convey a message that Iran should de-escalate with Israel, which they did, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said that on Wednesday, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Iraq spoke on the phone with Iran’s foreign minister and discussed regional tensions.

The White House declined to comment.

McGurk’s calls were first reported by Axios.

An Iranian flag hangs as smoke rises after what the Iranian media said was an Israeli strike on a building close to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria April 1, 2024. (credit: FIRAS MAKDESI/REUTERS)

An Iranian flag hangs as smoke rises after what the Iranian media said was an Israeli strike on a building close to the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria April 1, 2024. (credit: FIRAS MAKDESI/REUTERS)

Iran threatens a response to Israel

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Israel “must be punished, and it shall be” for its alleged Damascus strike that killed seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps members.

Among them was Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a senior commander in the Quds Force, an elite overseas unit of the Revolutionary Guards.