Daijiworld Media Network – Ankara

Ankara, Jan 24: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has warned that Israel appears to be seeking an opportunity to launch a military attack on Iran, cautioning that such a move could further destabilise the already volatile region.

In an interview with Turkish broadcaster NTV aired on Friday, Fidan said he hoped diplomatic alternatives would prevail but stressed that Israel, in particular, seemed intent on striking Iran. When asked whether his assessment applied to both the United States and Israel, Fidan clarified that Israel was specifically looking for such an opportunity, Turkiye Today reported.

The Turkish foreign minister said he had directly conveyed Ankara’s concerns to Iranian officials during a recent visit to Tehran. “When I went to Tehran in recent days, I told them everything about the process as their friend. And you know, a friend speaks bitter truths,” Fidan said.

His remarks came a day after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during a phone call that Turkiye opposed any foreign intervention in Iran and valued the peace and stability of its neighbour.
Meanwhile, tensions continued to escalate as a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Friday that Tehran would treat any attack by its enemies as an “all-out war”. The warning followed renewed rhetoric from US President Donald Trump, who said an “armada” of US naval ships had been sent towards the Gulf region, with Iran in focus.

“If the Americans violate Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, we will respond,” the Iranian official said, adding that the country’s military was on high alert and prepared for the worst-case scenario. “This time we will treat any attack – limited, unlimited, surgical or otherwise – as an all-out war against us, and we will respond in the hardest way possible,” the official said.

US media reports said the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and its strike group have been diverted from the South China Sea to the Middle East and are expected to arrive in the Gulf region in the coming days. The US military had earlier staged a major naval buildup in June 2024 in support of Israel during its 12-day conflict with Iran and ahead of US strikes on Iran’s nuclear programme.

The latest developments underline rising regional tensions, even as diplomatic channels remain active amid fears of a wider conflict.