CERNAY-LA-VILLE, France (AFP)—G7 foreign ministers Friday urged a stop to attacks against civilians in the Middle East war and urged Iran to immediately restore freedom of navigation in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

A joint statement, released in the name of all G7 members, including the United States, called for “an immediate cessation of attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure”.

“There can be no justification for the deliberate targeting of civilians in situations of armed conflict as well as attacks on diplomatic facilities,” it said, after the foreign ministers of the world’s leading industrialised nations met in France.

The joint statement had initially not been expected, which had been seen as a potential sign of transatlantic tensions over the US-Israeli war against the Islamic republic.

US President Donald Trump had threatened to strike Iranian energy facilities, but has since rowed back on that warning to give Tehran more time for talks he said were taking place.

A major theme of the meeting outside Paris was Iran’s de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy and trading bottleneck whose throttling has led to a surge in global energy prices.

“We reiterated the absolute necessity to permanently restore safe and toll-free freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement added.

In their meeting, the ministers focused on efforts “to mitigate global economic shocks such as disruptions to economic, energy, fertiliser and commercial supply chains, which have direct impacts on our citizens”, they said.