EU’s top diplomat spoke with Iran’s foreign minister, official says

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas held a phone call with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi today, an EU official tells Reuters.

Kallas also held separate calls with counterparts from Turkey, Qatar, and South Korea “on the war in the Middle East, attacks on energy infrastructure, and the urgent need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz,” the official says.

“These engagements were part of the EU’s ongoing efforts to explore diplomatic avenues forward,” the official says, adding that “fresh threats to attack critical civilian infrastructure risk impacting millions of people across the Middle East and beyond.”

Kallas last spoke to Araghchi on Wednesday, when she said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for the world’s oil supply, was a priority for Europe, according to an EU official.