Turkey calls on Iran and US to halt attacks

Turkey on Thursday called on the United States and Iran to halt their new round of attacks, saying it risked an “escalation” in the Middle East war.

“The reciprocal attacks that began two days ago raise fears of an escalation,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a press conference during a visit to Sofia. “We recommend that the parties halt their mutual attacks and resume negotiations.”

Fidan’s remarks came after the United States launched fresh strikes on Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate by targeting US bases across the Gulf, in the second straight day of tit-for-tat attacks.

US Central Command said American forces had carried out “additional self-defense strikes” against Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defense sites, saying the targets posed a threat to US forces and commercial ships in regional waters.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in response that it had struck US targets at bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, according to Iranian state media.

Turkey has repeatedly called for diplomacy between Washington and Tehran, warning that a wider conflict could destabilize the region, threaten energy routes and deepen insecurity in neighboring Iraq and Syria, where Ankara has military and political interests.

© Agence France-Presse