Turkey’s Erdogan seeks to mediate as US and Iran remain deadlocked over missile talks, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.
ISTANBUL: President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey is working hard to prevent US-Iran tensions from tipping into a new Middle East conflict.
His comments come as a dispute over Tehran’s missile arsenal threatens to derail nuclear negotiations scheduled for Oman.
Erdogan suggested high-level talks between US and Iranian leadership would be helpful following lower-level discussions. He made the remarks to reporters on a return flight from Egypt, according to a transcript shared by his office.
The two adversaries remain at odds over the agenda for the upcoming meeting. Washington insists negotiations must include Tehran’s missile arsenal and support for regional proxies.
Iran insists talks should be confined solely to its nuclear programme. This fundamental disagreement has raised doubts over whether the meeting will proceed as planned.
US President Donald Trump warned Iran’s Supreme Leader should be “very worried”. He told NBC News that “they’re negotiating with us” but did not elaborate.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said talks must include Iran’s ballistic missiles, proxy groups and human rights issues. Iranian sources say the US is demanding Tehran limit its missiles to a 500 km range.
Regional tensions are high as the US builds up military forces in the area. The deployment includes thousands of troops, an aircraft carrier, warships and fighter jets.
Many regional players fear a military confrontation could escalate into a wider war. This follows Israeli and US strikes on the Islamic Republic last summer.
Trump has warned that “bad things” would probably happen if a deal cannot be reached. The diplomatic efforts follow his threats of military action during Iran’s crackdown on protesters.
While talks were originally slated for Turkey, they have shifted to Muscat, Oman. Iran preferred Oman as previous nuclear talks were held there.
A Gulf official said the talks could be mediated by several countries. Iran has indicated it wants a format limited solely to Washington and Tehran.
