The election of Iran’s next supreme leader could provide an opportunity to end the ongoing regional war involving Israel, the U.S. and Iran, Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said.
Iran’s Assembly of Experts is currently selecting a successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike on the first day of the conflict.
In remarks to state media, Fidan said a negotiated compromise between the warring parties would be preferable to a prolonged and destructive regional war.
He expressed hope that Iran’s next supreme leader would demonstrate what he called the “political will” needed to help bring the conflict to an end. The fighting entered its fifth day on Wednesday.
Fidan also criticised Tehran’s strategy of striking targets in Arab Gulf states that host U.S. military facilities, including Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
He described the approach as a “wrong strategy” that risked destabilising the wider region, accusing Tehran of attacking targets in those countries “without distinction.”
“Iran is pursuing a strategy of ‘If I go down, I will take the region with me,’ and is targeting energy infrastructure in other countries, particularly critical facilities,” Fidan said.
Tehran, for its part, says its forces are using precision weapons to carry out surgical strikes on U.S. and Israeli military and intelligence assets in the Gulf states.
In separate remarks, Fidan said Türkiye - a NATO member that also hosts U.S. military facilities - had both the “will and the capability” to defend itself amid the rapidly escalating crisis.
On Wednesday, Fidan spoke by phone with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi to protest the reported entry of an Iranian ballistic missile into Turkish airspace.
During the call, Fidan told his Iranian counterpart that any action that could further widen the conflict must be avoided, according to a diplomatic source cited by Reuters.
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This is the last of four articles in AnewZ's series examining how conservationists are working to protect and repair damage done to the Aral Sea which lies between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
This is the third of four articles in AnewZ's series examining how conservationists are working to protect and repair damage done to the Aral Sea which lies between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
This is the second of four articles in AnewZ's series examining how conservationists are working to protect and repair damage done to the Aral Sea which lies between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
The Aviators of Ganja explores how young Spanish volunteers travelled to Soviet-era Azerbaijan to train as military pilots before being drawn into the defining conflicts of the 20th century.
The South Caucasus is increasingly being viewed not only through the lens of past conflicts but also as a strategic bridge linking Europe, the Caspian region and Central Asia. One analyst says this presents an opportunity for a new Euro-Atlantic approach focused on long-term regional cooperation.
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