On Sunday, a Turkish diplomatic source revealed to the Reuters News Service that Iran had informed Ankara in advance of their plans to launch an attack on Israel.
Iran informed Turkey in advance of its planned operation against Israel, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters on Sunday, adding that the US conveyed to Iran via Ankara that its operation must be "within certain limits."https://t.co/iG8Qr8WIYk
— The Jerusalem Post (@Jerusalem_Post) April 14, 2024
The unnamed source indicated that Turkey's Foreign Ministry has also spoken with his American counterpart.
Turkey, which has denounced Israel for its campaign on Gaza, said earlier on Sunday that it did not want a further escalation of tensions in the region.
The Turkish source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had spoken to both his US and Iranian counterparts in the past week to discuss the planned Iranian operation, adding Ankara had been made aware of possible developments.
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The American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, had spoken with Fidan earlier in the week.
Earlier this week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Fidan to make clear that escalation in the Middle East was not in anyone's interest.
"Iran informed us in advance of what would happen. Possible developments also came up during the meeting with Blinken, and they (the US) conveyed to Iran through us that this reaction must be within certain limits," the source said.
What makes this interesting is that Turkey is a NATO member. It's unclear why Iran would go to this effort to notify Turkey. While Turkey is a majority Muslim nation, it is distinct from the Middle Eastern nations in being neither Arab nor Persian but arising from a different background. It would seem that Turkey's NATO membership would make Iran hesitant to notify Ankara in advance of actions against a nation, Israel, that is not a NATO member but has the spoken and military support of NATO members, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.
Ankara does seem committed to de-escalation.
Iran, which neighbours Turkey, had vowed retaliation for what it called an alleged Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on April 1 that killed seven officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Turkey's foreign ministry later confirmed the contacts in a statement, saying Ankara had called for restraint and warned of a regional war if tensions escalated further.
It said Ankara would continue efforts to prevent further conflict and escalation in the region.
This is a developing situation. We will continue to monitor and will bring you updates as events warrant.
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