President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a warning on Feb. 5 regarding the escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, cautioning that a continued slide toward military confrontation would lead to a regional “disaster.”
“We are doing everything we can to reduce tensions between the United States and Iran so that the region is not dragged into a new conflict and chaos,” Erdoğan told journalists following a diplomatic tour that included stops in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Türkiye is working to reduce tensions between Washington and Tehran to prevent the region from sliding into a new conflict or chaos, he said, stressing Ankara’s opposition to any military intervention against Iran and its continued push for diplomacy.
“We are keeping the issue active. We clearly stated that we are against military intervention in Iran and conveyed this to our counterparts,” Erdoğan said. “So far, I see that the parties want to open space for diplomacy. This stands before us as a positive development.”
Negotiations remain possible despite heightened military tensions, Erdoğan said
"The solution to problems is not conflict, but meeting on the grounds of reconciliation and negotiation," he said.
"The process is alive and has not been broken. The ground is still open to dialogue and diplomacy.”
He added that progress at lower-level diplomatic talks could later pave the way for negotiations at the leadership level, saying that “while military tension has increased so much, the establishment of a negotiation table in some way is also important.”
Erdoğan warned that viewing the issue solely through a military lens could push the region toward “disaster,” saying, “Fanning the flames further will benefit no one.”
“We do not want a new war in our region,” he said, adding that Türkiye will continue working through “leader diplomacy and talks at other levels” to strengthen the negotiation process. “Our region has had enough of blood, tears and wars. We now want to talk about peace and stability and increase cooperation.”
Erdoğan also said regional countries, including Saudi Arabia, share similar concerns about maintaining peace and stability, emphasizing that “peace, stability and prosperity fully established in our region will benefit us all, while everyone loses in a geography dominated by conflict.”
