Turkiye Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has warned that Israel appears to be looking for an opportunity to launch an attack on Iran, cautioning that such a move could further destabilise an already fragile region.
Speaking in an interview with Turkish broadcaster NTV aired on Friday, Fidan said the signs were increasingly clear. “I hope they choose a different path,” he said, “but the reality is that Israel, in particular, is looking for an opportunity to strike Iran.”
Israel Seen as Key Actor
When asked whether his assessment applied equally to both the United States and Israel, Fidan stressed that Israel was the primary concern, according to a report by Turkiye Today.
The foreign minister said he had shared Ankara’s concerns directly with Iranian officials during a recent visit to Tehran.
“When I was in Tehran in recent days, I explained everything about this process as a friend,” Fidan said. “And as you know, a friend sometimes speaks bitter truths,” he added.
Ankara Opposes Foreign Intervention
Fidan’s comments came a day after Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, reiterating Turkiye opposition to any foreign intervention in Iran.
During the call, Erdogan emphasised that Ankara values Iran’s peace and stability and does not support actions that could escalate tensions in the region.
Iran Issues Strong Warning
Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Friday that Tehran would view any attack by its adversaries as an act of full-scale war.
“If the Americans violate Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, we will respond,” the official said, amid rising rhetoric between Washington and Iran’s leadership.
The warning followed remarks by US President Donald Trump, who said on Thursday that he had dispatched an “armada” of naval vessels toward the Gulf region, again hardening his tone toward Tehran after briefly easing tensions last week.
Military Buildup Raises Alarm
The Iranian official said the military buildup had placed Iran’s armed forces on high alert, even as hopes remained that the deployment was not intended to trigger direct confrontation.
“This time, any attack — limited, surgical, or otherwise — will be treated as an all-out war against us,” the official said, adding that Iran would respond “in the hardest way possible.”
US media reports indicate that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and its strike group have been redirected from the South China Sea to the Middle East and are expected to arrive in the Gulf in the coming days.
The last major US naval buildup in the region took place in June 2024, during Israel’s 12-day conflict with Iran and ahead of US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.