Türkiye is preparing for a potential influx of migrants from neighboring Iran as the war in the Middle East entered its sixth day amid a series of attack exchanges on March 5, Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi has said.
Ankara earlier stated that there had so far been no unusual migration movement at its borders following the Feb. 28 joint strikes by the United States and Israel on key Iranian facilities.
“The Interior Ministry has prepared three separate scenarios for a possible migration wave,” Çiftçi said during a visit by a press organization on March 4.
Under the first scenario, any potential migration movement would be intercepted and managed on the Iranian side before reaching Türkiye’s borders, he said.
The second scenario envisages the creation of buffer zones along the border to contain the movement if it cannot be stopped beforehand.
Under the third and last-resort scenario, migrants would be allowed into Türkiye and accommodated under controlled conditions within the country, the minister noted.
Preparations have initially been made to host up to 90,000 people in the event of a migration flow. The capacity would consist of tent camps and temporary accommodation areas that could be set up in different locations.
However, the minister said there was no extraordinary movement at three major border crossings along the two countries’ shared 500-kilometer (300-mile) frontier.
Entry and exit numbers between the two countries have remained at roughly similar levels in recent days, he added.
Türkiye and Iran have also mutually suspended day-trip crossings along their border, Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat announced on March 2.
“Iran is allowing its own citizens to enter their country via Türkiye… we are also allowing our own citizens and third-country nationals to enter our country from Iran,” Bolat said.
Türkiye was the country most affected by the refugee wave triggered by the 2011 Syrian civil war, and it still hosts more than 2.3 million Syrians today.
Iran’s neighbors have long feared that a new round of strikes on the country could destabilize the region and trigger a fresh influx of refugees.
Türkiye currently hosts more than 74,000 Iranians with residence permits and around 5,000 recognized refugees.
