By Thomas Grove and Matthew Dalton
President Trump's embrace of diplomacy to potentially end the war in the Middle East highlights a host of countries in the region who have mediated in previous rounds of violence.
Late last week, foreign ministers from Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan gathered in Riyadh for talks aimed at finding a diplomatic off-ramp to the war. Other countries in the region have added their voices to advocate for a negotiated solution.
Middle Eastern mediators have tried in the past, with varying degrees of success, to negotiate peace in conflicts across the globe. Egypt has traditionally played the most prominent role, particularly in fighting between Hamas and Israel. It was the first Arab country to sign a peace deal with Israel, and Cairo is credited with maintaining steady relations with the U.S.
Turkey, which has sought to raise its regional status, has also worked to boost diplomacy, and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has spoken to his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in recent days. Turkey hosted several rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine; the most recent, in May 2025, ended without a deal, as the Kremlin sent only junior officials to meet with the Ukrainian delegation, which included President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Russian and Ukrainian officials also met in Abu Dhabi in February, where they agreed to exchange 314 prisoners of war but made little progress in the dispute over land in eastern Ukraine.
Other countries in the Gulf region, however, could play an important role in negotiations to end the conflict in the Middle East.
Qatar, which has some of the closest relations with both Iran and the U.S., took credit for initiating mediation between the two countries during last year's 12-day war in which the U.S. and Israel struck Iranian nuclear sites. The Gulf Kingdom says it "supports all diplomatic efforts" to end the war in Iran, but has cautioned that it isn't part of any diplomatic solution at the moment.
The neighboring Kingdom of Oman, which has maintained a strict policy of neutrality, is also positioned to potentially help bring the two sides together. Oman was a key player in maintaining negotiations over Iran's nuclear program before the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Tehran last month.
Pakistan has also offered to host talks to end the conflict, after Trump spoke by phone to Pakistani army chief Asim Munir on Sunday. Pakistan is home to the world's largest population of Shia Muslims outside Iran and relies heavily on energy exports from the Persian Gulf.
This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 24, 2026 10:16 ET (14:16 GMT)
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