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       A man walks past closed shops in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar on Monday. The city’s largest and most prominent marketplace was closed as fighting between Israel and Iran entered a fourth day. The main gate was shut, with streets largely deserted and most shops across the capital closed, except for a few grocery stores.—AFP

       ISLAMABAD: The foreign ministers of 20 Muslim countries on Monday issued an urgent call for an immediate cessation of Israeli hostilities against Iran, warning that the escalating military confrontation threatens to ignite a broader, destabilising conflict in the Middle East.

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       In a joint statement, the ministers “categorically rejected and condemned Israel’s recent attacks on the Islamic Republic of Iran since the 13th of June 2025,” and demanded an end to military operations. The group also called for a return to negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, describing diplomacy as the only sustainable path forward.

       The statement was issued by the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Brunei, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

       The signatories expressed “great concern regarding this dangerous escalation, which threatens to have serious consequences on the peace and stability of the entire region,” and stressed “the imperative need to halt Israeli hostilities against Iran.”

       Demand that Middle East ’be free of nuclear weapons and other WMDs

       The foreign ministers urged all sides to de-escalate and return to diplomacy. “The urgency of a swift return to the path of negotiations as the only viable means to reach a sustainable agreement regarding the Iranian nuclear program[me]” was emphasised in the statement.

       They also called for the establishment of a Middle East-zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, applicable “to all States in the region without exception,” and reiterated support for all countries in the region to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

       Warning against further escalation, the ministers said attacks on nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards “constitute a violation of international law and international humanitarian law,” referencing United Nations Security Council decisions and the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Iranian nuclear installations, which were under IAEA safeguards, were attacked Israel.

       Earlier in the day, China, Russia and Pakistan also issued a statement asking IAEA chief to give report on the Israeli aggression against Iranian nuclear facilities that were under IAEA safeguards and also to inform UN Security Council about future threats of aggression.

       The statement also highlighted the importance of protecting maritime security and maintaining freedom of navigation, amid growing concerns over the potential expansion of the conflict to critical shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea.

       “Diplomacy, dialogue, and adherence to the principles of good neighbourliness, in accordance with international law and the UN Charter, remain the only viable path to resolving crises in the region,” the statement concluded. “Military means cannot bring about a lasting resolution to the ongoing crisis.

       Published in Dawn, June 17th, 2025