CAIRO, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian discussed regional military escalation in a phone call on Friday, read a statement by the Egyptian presidency.

Sisi expressed Egypt's regret over the current escalation and deep concern about its negative impact on regional stability.

He urged stopping the attacks immediately and voiced Egypt's readiness to mediate and prioritize political and diplomatic solutions.

Pezeshkian hailed Egypt's de-escalation role and reaffirmed that Iran has participated in rounds of negotiations to reach an agreement on its nuclear program.

He also emphasized his country's keenness on good neighborliness with Arab states.

The phone call came amid heightened regional tensions after joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran starting from Feb. 28, to which Iran and Iran-aligned groups responded with attacks on Israeli and U.S. interests across the Middle East.