ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Friday, proposed forming a regional committee of foreign ministers to mediate between Iran and the US and help resolve the regional conflict.

Hussein suggested a committee comprising “the foreign ministers of several countries in the region, tasked with visiting both Tehran and Washington to explore ways of reaching peaceful understandings that would help resolve existing differences and strengthen regional stability,” the Iraqi foreign ministry said in a statement.

During the war, Iran repeatedly targeted US military and diplomatic sites in Iraq, as well as Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in the Kurdistan Region. The US, Israel and regional neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, also conducted airstrikes on pro-Iran Iraqi militias.

Restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz have also taken a significant toll on Iraq’s oil exports and economy, as the country ships much of its crude through the strategic waterway.

For his part, Araghchi outlined Iran’s position on resuming negotiations with Washington, saying its proposal included a timeline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, returning to the points outlined in the June memorandum of understanding (MoU), and additional points concerning the nuclear file, according to the Iraqi ministry.

He said Iran’s conditions had been presented to Washington ahead of the US midterm elections on Tuesday, the ministry added.

According to Iranian state media, the foreign ministers discussed “political and diplomatic initiatives aimed at establishing peace and stability in the region.”

The MoU between Washington and Tehran, which aimed to end hostilities and resume negotiations for 60 days, collapsed 21 days later as fighting resumed and both sides targeted each other's interests in the region.

Iran’s conditions included an end to fighting on all fronts, the lifting of sanctions, and post-war reconstruction. A key US demand was the restoration of free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed at the onset of its war with the US and Israel in late February.

Both sides are currently negotiating a prospective agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and secure peace, although US President Donald Trump has repeatedly raised the possibility of a broader return to war.