Turkey’s foreign minister has warned the United States against launching an attack on Iran, saying he believes there is “currently no immediate threat of war,” and revealed that ahead of the outbreak of the 12-day war, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio asked Ankara to pass a message to Tehran hinting at the possibility of a strike.
“We received a phone call from Rubio at the time, in which he said, ‘Tell the Iranians that in the coming hours, anything is possible,’” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Tuesday in an interview with CNN Turk. He said that when Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi heard the message, he responded that the negotiations under way at the time were continuing.
“The region cannot bear another war,” Fidan said, noting that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also involved in efforts to prevent a US attack following the massacre of protesters in Iran. “Our president is also very sensitive to this issue. That is why we want to use every means to prevent a possible war.” According to Fidan, the tensions can be resolved “immediately.” “At the moment, it does not appear that there is an immediate threat of war,” he added, stressing that the door to negotiations has opened.
Fidan said Turkey conveyed a message to the Americans that their demand that Iran “accept all four demands at once or walk away is not realistic.” He said Iran is prepared to discuss the status of enriched uranium and the fate of uranium enriched in the past. “If a formula is found for that, it will be possible to put additional issues on the table,” he added.
According to the Turkish foreign minister, the nuclear issue is directly linked to US national security and global security, while other issues, such as ballistic missiles and Iran’s proxies, are not directly related to US security but rather to the security of Israel and the region. Asked whether an airstrike could bring down the Iranian regime, he replied, “No, that will not happen.”
Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Washington for a meeting with President Trump in an effort to prevent a US agreement with Iran. Before departing, Netanyahu said he would discuss a range of issues with Trump, including “Gaza, the region and first and foremost the negotiations with Iran.”
The visit comes after the start of talks between Iran and the United States, and at a time when many US forces remain deployed in the region, including the aircraft carrier Lincoln, positioned for a possible strike on Iran. Israeli officials say heavy pressure is being exerted on Washington behind the scenes by Arab states, with strong involvement by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
According to the officials, this raises concern that Trump could reach a “hollow” agreement with Iran, one that would address only the nuclear issue, without meaningful oversight by the International Atomic Energy Agency and without addressing ballistic missiles. Officials in Jerusalem fear such an agreement would “lock in” Israel, making it very difficult for it to act against Iran in the future.