Turkey’s defense ministry said Thursday it is stepping up security measures along the country’s border with Iran while insisting it has not detected a mass influx of people fleeing unrest in the neighboring country.
Defense ministry officials told reporters during a weekly briefing in Ankara that Turkish border units were maintaining constant surveillance and that additional steps were being prepared as a precaution.
The ministry said Turkey’s 560-kilometer (350-mile) border with Iran is monitored round the clock through a system that includes physical barriers and technology such as surveillance towers and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The announcement comes as Iran faces its largest protests since 2022, with authorities have carrying out a crackdown that has pushed some Iranians to seek routes out of the country, including through Turkey.
Turkey has warned against foreign intervention in Iran and called for dialogue, saying further escalation could destabilize the region.
An Iranian official speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters that Tehran told regional countries including Turkey that the US bases in their countries would be attacked in retaliation in the event of a US strike on Iran.
The expectation of an imminent US strike on Iran decreased on Thursday after intense diplomatic activity between the US and its allies in the region.