https://arab.news/v7hwd
With the US-Israel and Iran war now a week old, three significant developments have occurred that reveal how Turkiye is signaling its positions to both Tehran and Washington. Ankara has communicated its messages through President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the Ministry of Defense.
Following the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Erdogan stated that he was saddened by Khamenei’s passing and extended condolences to the Iranian people. Turkiye thus became the only regional country to publicly offer condolences to Iran. Turkish officials have previously expressed condolences on the death of Iranian officials, such as former President Ebrahim Raisi, so this is not unusual. But Erdogan’s gesture this time was a significant attempt to signal Turkiye’s neutral position in the war.
At present, Turkiye is the only NATO member that has open diplomatic channels of communication with Iran, which is a strategic priority for Ankara at this critical time.
The second message came from Fidan. On Tuesday, he criticized Tehran’s strategy of striking Gulf states “without making any distinction,” calling it “an incredibly wrong strategy.” He added that Iran was pursuing a policy of “if I am going down, I will take the region down with me.” Fidan’s statement was critical in diplomatic terms. It showed Ankara’s discomfort with both Washington and Tehran, as Fidan shared more details about how the situation had reached this point and how Turkiye had tried to prevent it from doing so.
