Iranian top diplomat due in Ankara amid tension with US

ANKARA

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will pay a visit to Türkiye to meet his counterpart, Hakan Fidan, on Jan. 30 amid ongoing tensions with the United States, Turkish diplomatic sources have said.

The visit comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened Iran to accept negotiations over its nuclear program or face a harsh military strike, as he ordered the deployment of a naval strike group to head toward the Middle East.

Ankara has increased its diplomatic engagement with Tehran in the past few days to avoid a new escalation in the region. Fidan and Araghchi exchanged views on the recent developments in a phone conversation earlier in the week.

According to the sources, Fidan will reiterate that Türkiye is closely following the developments in Iran and underline the importance of Iran’s stability and security for Türkiye and the region. As was stated previously, Fidan will repeat that Türkiye is against any sort of military intervention against Iran as such an attack will create huge risks for the region and the world.

Fidan will stress once again that Türkiye stands ready to offer its contributions to peacefully solve the problem through dialogue. This includes the Iranian nuclear program, Fidan will tell Araghchi, repeating that Türkiye will provide its help to this end should there is a need.

According to media reports, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan proposed a three-way meeting between the leaders of Türkiye, the U.S. and Iran during his phone conversation with U.S. President Trump on Jan. 27.

Regional issues on the agenda

The two ministers will also discuss regional issues and counterterrorism. Fidan will underline the increased role PKK/PJAK played in in inflaming the protests inside Iran during recent mess and urge the need for eliminating the PJAK is a must for Iran’s security. The PJAK is known to be PKK’s Iranian associate.

On Gaza, Fidan will repeat that Türkiye, a member of key mechanisms withing the scope of the second stage of Gaza peace deal, pays utmost importance for the uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.

He will underline the need for regional countries to cooperate against Israeli actions to destabilize the region, the sources said.

Fidan and Araghchi will also discuss the recent developments in Syria following the withdrawal of YPG from the regions it has been controlling for the past decade, in line with a Jan. 18 agreement.

Fidan will emphasize the fact that reinforcing security and peace in Syria will contribute to regional stability and the importance of full implementation of the Jan. 18 agreement for the protection of the country’s political unity and territorial integrity.

He will also underline the importance of continued ceasefire and cessation of violence in Syria for the safe transfer of ISIL prisoners to Iraq.