Turkey "is playing a role passing messages" between Iran and the U.S. to encourage de-escalation and direct negotiations, Harun Armagan, vice chair of foreign affairs for President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party, told Reuters on Wednesday.
President Tayyip Erdogan © Mena Today
Turkey "is playing a role passing messages" between Iran and the U.S. to encourage de-escalation and direct negotiations, Harun Armagan, vice chair of foreign affairs for President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party, told Reuters on Wednesday.
He did not elaborate on the messages but said they were also being conveyed to Gulf nations, which have been caught up in the widening regional war sparked by the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran.
Iran's military on Wednesday rejected President Donald Trump's assertion that the United States was in negotiations to end the war.
NATO member Turkey had sought to mediate U.S.-Iran talks before the attacks began nearly a month ago and has repeatedly called for an immediate halt to hostilities. Erdogan has said it would continue working with all its resources to secure peace.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said Ankara was conveying "friendly" advice to Tehran to avoid widening the war, and that he was also in touch with Washington to understand where the sides stood.
On Sunday, a Turkish diplomatic source said Fidan had spoken with U.S. officials and also with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, among others, to discuss possible steps to end the war.
Three Iranian missiles bound for neighbouring Turkey have been downed by NATO air defences since the war began.
By Jonathan Spicer
Iran has warned the United States that it would respond forcefully to an Israeli offensive on a mountainous ridge in southern Lebanon where Iranian military personnel are holed up alongside Hezbollah fighters, three officials briefed on the message told Reuters.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the renewed U.S. campaign against Iran would not continue for "too long" after the biggest exchange of fire between Tehran and Washington since July.
Top aides to President Donald Trump are pushing to keep the Iran war from escalating before November's midterm elections to staunch Republican electoral losses, four people familiar with the discussions said, a strategy already under strain as the U.S. and Iran exchanged back-and-forth attacks overnight.
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