Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger held a telephone conversation with her Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, on Thursday as tensions in the region continued to threaten peace, trade and global food security.
Meinl-Reisinger said she had stressed the urgent need for serious diplomatic efforts to restore stability in the Middle East. “There can be no military solution,” she wrote on X. “The possibility of a diplomatic solution exists.”
The minister had announced the call on Tuesday after meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington. Iran currently rejects direct talks with the United States, saying Washington has repeatedly violated the terms of a ceasefire agreement reached in June, according to ORF News.
Meinl-Reisinger also described freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz as “our priority”. The important waterway connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and is a vital route for international shipping and energy supplies.
She warned that any blockade could have disastrous consequences for the world economy and could push countries in the Global South towards a food crisis. Such an outcome, she argued, could not serve Iran’s interests either.
Austria is also calling for a diplomatic solution to the dispute over Iran’s nuclear programme. Meinl-Reisinger said any future agreement should involve the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, in full.
In 2015, Iran and six world powers reached a landmark agreement in Vienna to limit Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. The United States withdrew from the agreement in 2018, after which Iran gradually resumed uranium enrichment.
The current condition of Iran’s nuclear programme remains unclear following major US military strikes at the beginning of the year. Austria, which hosted the original nuclear negotiations and is home to the IAEA, continues to present Vienna as a possible place for renewed dialogue.
The telephone call came as diplomatic channels remain fragile. With tensions rising across the region, Austria is urging the parties to step back from confrontation and return to the negotiating table before the crisis spreads further through the region and beyond.
