Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for renewed diplomatic engagement to end the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran, urging efforts towards a peaceful resolution without further delay.

Erdogan made the appeal on Thursday during a meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye.

According to the Turkish presidency, Erdogan emphasised the need to revive negotiations and strengthen areas of agreement between the parties, while pledging Türkiye’s continued support for initiatives aimed at restoring peace.

“Common ground for agreement must be strengthened and diplomacy given a chance,” he said.

Pezeshkian had earlier accused the United States and Israel of causing serious environmental damage through their military operations against Iran during his address at the climate summit on Wednesday.

“The recent criminal and illegal aggression against Iran by America and the Zionist regime… has inflicted severe damage on the environment, releasing massive quantities of pollutants and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere,” he said.

The conflict began on February 28 following US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran subsequently launched missile and drone attacks against several countries in the region, while armed groups allied with Tehran in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq also became involved.

Diplomatic efforts involving Qatar and Pakistan have sought to end the hostilities. However, Tehran has made the release of frozen Iranian assets and the lifting of sanctions among its conditions for an agreement, alongside arrangements for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a major international energy shipping route, Channels Television reported.