Brussels - Foreign ministers from Britain, France, Germany and Italy are to meet in Brussels later Tuesday for talks on Libya and Iran as tensions escalate on both those fronts.

Europe is searching for a solution to the Libyan crisis...

British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab is to meet with his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, before meeting with top diplomats from Italy and Germany along with EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, diplomatic sources told dpa.

Tuesday's meeting of four top EU foreign officials is to cover the situation in Libya after Turkey announced it would send in troops to the war-torn North African state.

"The situation in Libya is very, very serious," Borrell's spokesman Peter Stano said, confirming that talks would take place. "We hope that a political solution can be found."

...and to the current Iran-US conflict

European capitals are also scrambling to de-escalate tensions in the region following the US assassination of a top Iranian military commander in Iraq last week, which unleashed threats of retaliation and huge protests in Tehran and Baghdad.

Iranian missile attack on US military in Iraq

After the quartet meeting, Germany's Heiko Maas, Raab and Le Drian are to discuss tensions between Iran and the United States, as well as Tehran's announcement it would drop commitments to a nuclear deal that curbs its ability to build nuclear weapons.

Foreign ministers from all 28 EU member states are also to gather in Brussels on Friday for an extraordinary meeting.