Ankara / Anadolu

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty discussed developments in the military escalation between Tehran and Washington and ways to ensure peace and stability in the Middle East region.

This came in a phone call between the two ministers on Friday, according to a statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

The statement added that Araghchi and Abdelatty discussed the latest developments in the region and the escalating military tensions between the United States and Iran.

They also discussed ways to ensure peace, stability and security in the region.

At dawn on Friday, US President Donald Trump announced that any damage to ships or cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz would be compensated from frozen Iranian funds under US control.

For about two weeks, the United States has been conducting strikes inside Iran, while Tehran responds with missile and drone attacks on military bases, facilities and sites it says are linked to Washington in regional countries.

The escalation comes despite Washington and Tehran signing a memorandum of understanding last June that included a cessation of hostilities and the start of negotiations to reach a broader agreement to end the war that Israel and the United States began on February 28 last.

But Trump announced on July 8 this year the end of the ceasefire, after tankers in the Strait of Hormuz were subjected to attacks that Washington accused Tehran of being behind.

Washington demands that Tehran stop attacking ships and ensure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran insists on subjecting the passage of ships to a mechanism it regulates through the waterway overlooking its coasts, exacerbating fears of disruption of oil and gas exports from the region.