Alarming headlines everywhere tell of murderous extremists sweeping across Iraq and taking the borders. Equally alarming is that the world could be drawn into military strikes, soon! But there is a diplomatic path to stop this crisis from engulfing the Middle East.

For years rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran have been fighting proxy wars in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, fueling sectarian conflict to gain power. They can stop this exploding into a regional bloodbath simply by engaging in talks, and calling for calm. There are initial signs they could meet, but to sit down together they need to feel an overwhelming ground swell from the vast majority of Shias and Sunnis across the region who detest this extremism and want peace and security.

That’s where we come in. Avaaz has more than one million members across the region, and yesterday they massively endorsed talks between these two leaders. If we embolden their call, we could help create a powerful alternative to war. Sign the urgent petition for peace -- when one million of us join, Avaaz will fund the first region-wide poll to show most people want talks not bombs, then deliver it to key media and diplomats.