TEHRAN - In a phone call on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and his Irish counterpart Micheál Martin, discussed the wars in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine as well as the Western-led sanctions on Iran.

Araqchi said the international community must take “swift and effective” measures to put an end to Israel’s campaign of genocide in Gaza, insisting Iran “seeks to de-escalate tension in the region."

But, Araqchi said, the Israeli regime under Benjamin Netanyahu seek to intensify violence and spread it to other regions, including the occupied West Bank.

The Iranian chief diplomat said reiterated Tehran’s position that the Islamic Republic will support any truce agreed by the Palestinians and the Hamas resistance movement.

Israel has killed more than 40,780 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. It has also launched intensive attacks on northern cities in the West Bank since last week unprecedented in the last two decades.

Martin, for his part, expressed concern over escalation of tension in the West Asia region and said Ireland seeks the establishment of immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the exchange of captives and delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gazans.

In a press release issued earlier on Monday, the Irish foreign minister said in the talks with his Iranian counterpart he had emphasized the importance of restraint by all sides in the region at this sensitive juncture in time.

“I noted Iran’s responsibility in this respect, urged it to use its influence positively, and restated the urgent need for a ceasefire in Gaza and across the region,” Martin said, Press TV reported.

The Irish chief diplomat said it was imperative to avoid a “spiral of violence” into regional war, warning that it will serve no purpose and make achieving peace even harder.

The Irish politician went on to say that the European Union is ready to “engage with Iran if it is serious about demonstrating a commitment to peace throughout the region.”