As the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict entered its second month, diplomatic efforts to halt the conflict intensified, with Pakistan facilitating indirect contacts between the parties and Türkiye, Egypt and Saudi Arabia coordinating regional initiatives aimed at establishing a framework for dialogue.

Türkiye, on the other hand, has consistently warned against the outbreak and expansion of the tensions. Ankara has also reiterated that its priority remains preventing further escalation, keeping itself outside the hostilities and continuing to emphasize diplomacy in all its engagements and initiatives.

Emphasizing Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s simultaneous phone diplomacy since the war that began on Feb. 28, Oral Toğa, a researcher at the Center for Iranian Studies (IRAM), told Daily Sabah, "Ankara is not merely a 'message carrier' in this process but a founding partner of the diplomatic architecture itself.”

"Indeed, Fidan's own acknowledgment that the four-way foreign ministers' meeting in Islamabad was originally planned to take place in Ankara confirms that Türkiye was the driving force behind the design of this mechanism,” Toğa added.

On March 29, Pakistan hosted talks with Türkiye, Egypt and Saudi Arabia aimed at ending the conflict in Iran, with early discussions centered on proposals to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, sources familiar with the matter said.

At the end of the first day of talks in Islamabad, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said foreign ministers from ⁠the regional powers had discussed "possible ways to bring an early and permanent end to the war in the region," and had been briefed on potential U.S.-Iran talks in Islamabad.

The talks were held as Iran warned the U.S. against launching a ground attack, and global oil prices surged amid continued fighting between Iran, the U.S. and Israel.

"Türkiye, on the other hand, is the actor building regional consensus, bringing conflict-affected countries like Saudi Arabia and Egypt to the same table,” Toğa asserted, pointing out that the essence of Ankara’s proposal was not about where the talks would be held but about what mechanism would govern them reflecting a structural attempt to address the trust deficit between the sides.

Fidan engaged in an intense phone diplomacy over the past weeks for an end to the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict. As Foreign Ministry sources announced, he held discussions with a wide range of regional and international officials to evaluate efforts to secure a cease-fire

Fidan recently returned from a Gulf trip where he held talks with counterparts and attended a meeting in Riyadh over the Gulf countries’ response to the war, which quickly expanded into those countries.

"It is important to recognize that Türkiye and Pakistan are playing complementary rather than competing roles in this process,” Toğa noted, underlining that Türkiye still proceeds to form the intellectual backbone of this process.

Fidan previously underlined that under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s strong and resilient leadership, Türkiye has become an international actor with a say in international affairs, an actor with gravity that has an impact on the balance of matters.

Over the past few years, issues regarding securing justice and representation within the current international system have become unsustainable. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s "The world is bigger than five" approach represented not only a political stance but also a humanitarian and ethical call for reform.

Türkiye has also been a central diplomatic figure between Kyiv and Moscow since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Ankara’s most notable diplomatic triumph was brokering the Black Sea Grain Initiative alongside the U.N. on July 22, 2022.

Erdoğan has maintained open communication channels with Moscow and Kyiv. With his landmark visit to Lviv on Aug. 18, 2022, Erdoğan became the only NATO leader to have visited both nations since hostilities erupted, reflecting Türkiye’s unique position.

Moreover, steps taken through Türkiye’s mediation have paved the way for resolving a dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa over Somaliland.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met in Ankara under the auspices of President Erdoğan and reached an understanding aimed at ending a crisis that has persisted for nearly a year between the two countries.

According to the Ethiopia-Somalia Ankara Declaration, the sides agreed to set aside differences and contentious issues and move forward with determination toward shared prosperity.

Professor Nurşin Ateşoğlu Güney from the National Intelligence Academy also stated that the meeting is highly significant, particularly given the participation of Egypt, Pakistan and Türkiye, as it reflects growing concern over the widening scope of the conflict.

She further added that the involvement of additional actors, including Yemen’s Houthis, underscores how the confrontation has taken on a broader regional dimension, stressing that the conflict with Iran is no longer a limited confrontation between specific parties, but a far more serious and expansive crisis with implications for the entire region.

Türkiye as energy hub

Iran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about a fifth of the world's total oil consumption, in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli strikes that began Feb. 28. The conflict has caused a spike in oil prices, inflation concerns, supply chain problems and worries about the impact on the global economy.

Toğa warned that the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has triggered a humanitarian and economic crisis affecting millions, with Pakistan and Bangladesh facing acute LNG shortages, Gulf states halting energy exports and a sharp rise in global prices.

"In this context, Türkiye’s position should be read not as an 'opportunity' but as a structural responsibility imposed by a regional crisis,” he said.

Gulf countries are reconsidering pipeline projects that would bypass the Strait of Hormuz, as the renewed conflict has revived concerns over the region’s reliance on one of the world’s most critical oil and gas chokepoints, the Financial Times (FT) reported Thursday.

The renewed debate underscores growing fears that prolonged Iranian control or disruption in the strait could leave Gulf exporters vulnerable, prompting officials and industry executives to revisit alternatives once deemed too costly or technically challenging to pursue.

He drew attention to the potential reactivation of the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline following a Baghdad-Irbil agreement, the growing importance of the Southern Gas Corridor for Europe, and the emergence of the Ceyhan terminal as one of the few secure energy exit points in the Eastern Mediterranean as factors placing Türkiye at the center of the evolving energy landscape, driven largely by geography rather than strategic choice.

"At the same time, Türkiye itself is paying a heavy price for this crisis. Thirteen percent of its natural gas imports come from Iran, and the prolongation of the crisis directly jeopardizes that supply.”

About 20% of the global oil supply passes through the strait daily, and heightened insecurity has driven up oil prices and shipping and insurance costs.

Toğa remarked that disruptions in industrial inputs imported from the Gulf, including aluminum, plastic raw materials and mono-ethylene glycol, are threatening the competitiveness of Türkiye’s $30 billion (TL 1.34 trillion) textile sector annually

While Türkiye’s role as an energy transit hub has expanded due to its geographic position, the country is simultaneously bearing the macroeconomic costs of the same crisis, he also asserted.

"The real issue here is not the capacity of pipelines but the urgent need for this war to end. The lasting solution lies not in transit infrastructure but at the diplomacy table.”

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Monday ​to obliterate Iran's energy plants if it does not agree to a peace deal and open the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil prices fell briefly below $100 per barrel on Wednesday after Trump said the U.S. will be done attacking Iran probably in two to three weeks, and that the U.S. "will not have anything to do with" what happens next in the Strait of Hormuz.

On the other hand, Güney also noted that the involvement of Yemen’s Houthi forces, extending the conflict into the Red Sea, underscores the fragility of global energy markets.

"The disruption of two critical maritime chokepoints has made the transportation of oil and gas increasingly difficult, highlighting the strategic importance of Türkiye and indirectly Syria in energy transit.”

The discussions over pipeline projects predating the Syrian war, aimed at transporting Gulf oil and gas through Syria to Türkiye, are now resurfacing, she said, emphasizing this development is significant in terms of bringing alternative hydrocarbon resources to global markets, positioning Türkiye as a key hub.

U.S. Ambassador to Ankara and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack said last week that Syria has the geopolitical capacity to serve as an alternative to the energy security crisis in the Strait of Hormuz.

"Türkiye and Syria will become the main distribution center of energy for the entire world,” Barrack said following his presentation.