Turkey will offer to mediate US-Iran tensions during a visit by Iran’s foreign minister, while also preparing contingency plans to reinforce its border.
ISTANBUL: Turkey will offer to mediate between Washington and Tehran during a visit by Iran’s foreign minister on Friday.
Officials said Ankara is also considering reinforcing security along its border should the dispute escalate.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will tell his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi that Turkey “is ready to contribute to resolving the current tensions through dialogue”, a Turkish diplomatic source said.
Fidan would reiterate Turkey’s opposition “to military interventions against Iran… (over) the regional and global risks such a step would entail”.
The minister had earlier stressed the need for Washington and Tehran to resume discussions over the Iranian nuclear programme.
“It’s wrong to attack Iran. It’s wrong to start the war again. Iran is ready to negotiate on the nuclear file again,” Fidan told Al-Jazeera television.
Alongside its diplomatic push, Ankara is assessing additional security precautions along its border with Iran.
“If the United States attacks Iran and the regime falls, Turkey is planning additional measures to reinforce border security,” a senior Turkish official said.
Much of the 500-kilometre frontier is secured by a wall, but “it has proven insufficient”.
Options under review include deploying more troops and expanding technological surveillance systems.
Turkey began building a concrete wall in 2021 over migration concerns following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.
Officials say there is currently no sign of mass movement toward Turkey linked to developments in Iran.
Unmanned aerial vehicles continue to conduct round-the-clock reconnaissance along the frontier.
