ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that he had discussed establishing regional security arrangements “free from the interference of extra-regional powers,” during phone calls with counterparts from 12 regional countries.

“Over the past 48 hours, I have held separate telephone conversations with 12 of my counterparts – from Oman, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Cyprus, Turkey, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Iraq, and Pakistan,” semi-official ISNA reported, quoting Araghchi.

During the phone conversations, Araghchi highlighted the “need to establish regional security arrangements free from the interference of extra-regional powers.”

He also stressed Tehran’s “legitimate right to defend its sovereignty and national security,” as well as the importance of “avoiding destructive foreign interference.”

During a phone call with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on Friday, Hussein proposed forming a regional committee of foreign ministers to mediate between Iran and the US and help resolve the regional conflict.

Following the collapse of the June memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Tehran and Washington, the two sides have resumed sporadic strikes on each other's interests in the region, with reports that the US is considering resuming its military operations in the coming period.

The Iranian army said it destroyed an American drone over Qeshm Island early Saturday, while US President Donald Trump said US forces had targeted an Iranian anti-aircraft device and “knocked it out.”

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