Turkey to offer mediation on US-Iran tensions, weighs border measures
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Ankara is assessing additional security precautions along its border with Iran.
PHOTO: AFP
ISTANBUL - Turkey will offer to mediate between Washington and Tehran during a visit by Iran’s foreign minister on Jan 30, officials said, as Ankara considers reinforcing security along its border should the dispute escalate.
The visit on Jan 30 by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi comes after US President Donald Trump threatened a military strike on Iran over its deadly protest crackdown earlier in January.
A US naval strike group
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will tell Mr Araghchi on Jan 30 that his country “is ready to contribute to resolving the current tensions through dialogue”, a Turkish diplomatic source said.
Mr Fidan would reiterate Turkey’s opposition “to military interventions against Iran... (over) the regional and global risks such a step would entail”, said the source, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.
The minister had on Jan 28 stressed the need for Washington and Tehran to resume discussions over the Iranian nuclear programme, suggesting that was the top priority to be resolved.
“It’s wrong to attack Iran. It’s wrong to start the war again. Iran is ready to negotiate on the nuclear file again,” Mr Fidan had told Al-Jazeera television.
“Turkey supports reaching a peaceful solution to Iran’s nuclear programme in the near term and is ready to provide assistance if needed in this regard,” the Foreign Ministry source said.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei confirmed the visit, saying on X that Tehran “is determined to continuously strengthen relations with its neighbours based on the policy of good neighbourliness and common interests”.
Contingency plans
Alongside its diplomatic push, Ankara is assessing additional security precautions along its border with Iran if a US strike destabilises the country, a senior Turkish official told AFP.
Much of the 500km frontier is secured by a wall, but “it has proven insufficient”, said the official, who requested anonymity.
The Turkish authorities have so far avoided the term “buffer zone” but options under review include deploying more troops and expanding technological surveillance systems, the official added.
Turkey began building a concrete wall in 2021 as concerns grew about a potential influx of migrants following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.
So far, officials say there is no sign of mass movement toward Turkey linked to developments in Iran.
Earlier in January, the Defence Ministry said it had detected “no evidence” of large‑scale migration.
Unmanned aerial vehicles continue to conduct round-the-clock reconnaissance along the frontier.
To date, the authorities have completed installation of 203 electro‑optical towers, 43 lift towers, 380km of modular concrete wall, and 553km of trenches, according to official figures. AFP
