ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp held a phone call on Monday to stress the necessity for an end to the US-Israel war with Iran.  

The two “agreed that every effort must be made to stop the war and resolve disputes and disagreements through peaceful means,” the Kurdistan Region Presidency said in a statement.

The Kurdistan Region and Iraq have been repeatedly targeted since the start of the war in late February, with the attacks often claimed by the pro-Iran militia groups inside the country. Other countries in the region, particularly the oil-rich Gulf, have also come under daily retaliatory strikes from Iran.

Veldkamp “expressed his country's and the European Union's concern over the possibility of further expansion of the war and conflicts and their consequences, and also emphasized his country's support for preserving the peace and stability of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region,” the statement added.

US President Donald Trump on Monday said that Iran and the US have engaged in “productive conversations” to resolve all hostilities, adding that he has called for a halt to all strikes targeting Iranian energy infrastructure for five days. 

But Iran’s Fars news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), denied Trump’s claims, saying, “There is no direct or indirect conversation with Trump.” 

“He retreated after hearing that our targets will be all power plants in West Asia,” the agency said, citing an unnamed source. 

Iran has also closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway responsible for one-fifth of the world’s oil, as a means against the US and Israel. The closure has spiked oil prices and disrupted supply chains.

In a joint statement with Japan on Thursday, five European countries, including the Netherlands, said they were ready to “contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” condemning Iran’s attacks on commercial vessels.

The countries called on Iran to “immediately” cease laying mines in the sea, drone and missile attacks, “and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping.”