Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty warned on Monday of the risk of “total chaos” and a comprehensive regional war in the Middle East amid dangerous military escalation. He held intensive diplomatic calls with Greek and Iraqi counterparts to contain the situation. He stressed the need for diplomatic efforts and preserving international maritime navigation freedom.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty warned on Monday of “extremely dangerous developments” in the Middle East during a phone call with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis. He emphasized the need for regional and international efforts to prevent widespread instability, highlighting Egypt’s push for diplomacy and dialogue. Abdelatty voiced Egypt’s “complete condemnation” of attacks on Arab states’ territories, viewing any sovereignty violation as a direct threat to Egyptian and Arab national security. He also stressed maintaining freedom of international maritime navigation to avoid “dire economic and security consequences” globally. The ministers agreed to continue coordination under the Egypt-Greece strategic relationship to support de-escalation. In another call with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, they discussed successive regional developments and the “dangerous military escalation.” Abdelatty cautioned that ongoing operations risk dragging the region into total chaos, urging prioritization of diplomacy to avert “catastrophic” security and humanitarian outcomes. He reaffirmed Egypt’s support for Iraq’s stability, unity, and sovereignty, while coordinating on the Arab League Council’s virtual ministerial meeting scheduled for March 29. These talks followed Sunday’s calls—under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s directives—with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. There, Abdelatty called for “self-restraint and wisdom,” reiterated maritime navigation’s importance amid global trade impacts, and rejected attacks on Gulf states, linking Gulf security to Egypt’s.