European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has issued an urgent call for negotiations to end hostilities in Iran, warning that the conflict is creating a critical situation for global energy supplies. The appeal comes as Pakistan intensifies its backchannel mediation efforts between Washington and Tehran, with diplomats racing against the clock before President Trump’s five-day strike pause expires. BRUSSELS/ISLAMABAD – In a forceful intervention that underscores the widening global stakes of the Middle East conflict, the European Union’s top official demanded Tuesday that all parties move immediately to the negotiating table. The statement from Ursula von der Leyen adds the weight of the 27-nation bloc to a rapidly coalescing international effort to de-escalate the four-week-old US-Israeli war against Iran. “The situation is critical for the energy supply worldwide. We all feel the knock-on effects on gas and oil prices, our businesses and our societies,” von der Leyen sa...