Türkiye conveys ‘friendly advice’ to Tehran in hopes of averting wider war

Ankara has conveyed “friendly advice” to the Iranian leadership in an effort to avert a wider war in the Middle East, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday in the Qatari capital, Doha.

While Fidan blamed Israel for instigating the ongoing conflict, he also said Iran bore a “historic responsibility” to refrain from attacking neighbouring countries, describing such actions as “unacceptable”.

Speaking alongside Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as the country’s foreign minister, Fidan said Iranian attacks on Qatar’s energy infrastructure “can never be justified under any circumstances”.

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He added that Türkiye, which maintains close relations with Doha, “stands by brotherly Qatar and will continue to do so.”

Fidan, however, also condemned ongoing U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, which he said “disregard civilian lives and target civilian infrastructure.”

According to the Turkish foreign minister, Ankara is in contact with both Tehran and Washington in the hope of bringing the war - which is soon to enter its fourth week - to an end through diplomatic means.

Earlier this week, Fidan attended emergency talks in Riyadh involving foreign ministers from key Middle Eastern and Asian countries, including Azerbaijan, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Pakistan and the Arab Gulf states.

Mideast ‘boiling’, Erdoğan warns

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, meanwhile, has warned that the Middle East is “boiling” as a result of the weeks-long conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States.

Speaking on the occasion of the Eid al-Fitr (Bayram) holiday, which began on Friday, Erdoğan said that what he described as “Zionist Israel” would “pay a price” for killing thousands of people in the region.

The Turkish leader’s remarks coincided with an ongoing Israeli military campaign in southern Lebanon that has resulted in hundreds of casualties, particularly among Lebanese civilians.

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News Politics Middle east crisis Türkiye Iran Israel United States military escalation Qatar Doha