Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday urged the United States and Iran to guard against any provocations by Israel and use their current ceasefire to push for lasting peace.

“We must not allow weapons to again replace words,” he told the fifth Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey.

“Let it not be forgotten, the shortest path to peace is dialogue and diplomacy. Peace is not a one-winged bird.”

His remarks came as Washington and Tehran weighed the next steps after a temporary halt in fighting, with Turkey seeking to cast itself as a possible facilitator in the crisis.

The US-Israeli attack on Iran, which started on February 28, has killed thousands of people and destabilised the Middle East.

The conflict had raised fears of a major oil shock by disrupting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for about a quarter of global seaborne oil trade, including large volumes of liquefied natural gas.