As its neighbor is rocked by protests and the U.S. threat of a strike, Ankara is engaged in a diplomatic blitz for a peaceful solution to the issue.
Ömer Çelik, deputy chair and spokesperson for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), told reporters in the southern city of Osmaniye on Sunday that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had a resolute will to that extent.
“Any foreign intervention in Iran will have worse consequences. Carrying out military attacks against leaders and institutions of a country will definitely have consequences,” he warned.
“Türkiye is right for the role of a reliable mediator. Our president has will. We hope that this issue will be resolved before heading into the said consequences,” he added.
Türkiye’s foreign minister on Friday warned Washington against being drawn into Israeli pressure to launch an attack on Iran, saying it would inflict serious damage on an already fragile region. "We see that Israel is trying to persuade the U.S. to launch a military attack on Iran. ... We hope the U.S. administration will act with common sense and not allow this to happen," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a joint press conference in Istanbul with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi. Fidan reiterated that Ankara opposes any military intervention against Iran and supports a peaceful, internal resolution of the country's issues by its own people.
"We have told our counterparts at every opportunity that we are against a military intervention targeting Iran," Fidan said.
"We hope that Iran's internal issues will be resolved peacefully by the Iranian people without any external intervention," he said.
Fears have been rising over a potential U.S. intervention in Iran following a crackdown on recent anti-government protests, after U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened military action.
The U.S. military has significantly expanded its presence in the region since early January, including by deploying the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. And Trump has stepped up pressure with renewed threats, saying additional warships were heading towards Iran.
On Saturday, a senior Iranian official said the country was preparing for diplomatic talks with the U.S., including on the country's nuclear program.
Qatar has emerged as a mediator between the two countries, with the Gulf state's foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, arriving in Tehran late on Saturday. Sheikh Mohammed held talks with his counterpart Abbas Araghchi and Ali Larijani, the secretary-general of Iran's Security Council and a close confidant of Khamenei.
Amid the tensions with the U.S., Iran has also stepped up rhetoric against Europe after EU foreign ministers decided on Thursday to designate the powerful IRGC as a terrorist organization. The move was considered largely symbolic as the IRGC is already sanctioned by the EU for human rights violations.
However, Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Tehran now considers EU militaries to be "terrorist groups." The IRGC is Iran's elite military force and far superior to the regular army.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday that diplomatic progress with the U.S. depends on an end to hostile behavior, citing Washington’s significant military buildup in the Gulf.
"The success of any diplomatic initiative depends on the goodwill of the parties involved and the abandonment of belligerent and threatening actions in the region," said Pezeshkian in a call with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to a statement by the Iranian Presidency.
The two leaders reviewed Türkiye-Iran ties as well as the growing security risks stemming from the recent escalation, according to Türkiye’s Directorate of Communications.
During the call, Erdoğan stressed that Türkiye is ready to assume a facilitating role between Iran and the U.S. to help de-escalate tensions and contribute to resolving outstanding issues.
The statement added that Erdoğan also told Pezeshkian he would receive Iran's foreign minister later on Friday in the capital Ankara.
