Turkey to offer mediation on US-Iran tensions, weighs border measures

Turkey will offer to mediate between Washington and Tehran during a visit by Iran's foreign minister on Friday, officials said, as Ankara considers reinforcing security along its border should the dispute escalate.

Friday's visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi comes after US President Donald Trump threatened a military strike on Iran over its deadly protest crackdown earlier this month.

A US naval strike group arrived in Middle East waters on Monday with Trump warning it was "ready, willing and able" to hit Iran "if necessary".

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will tell Araghchi on Friday that his country "is ready to contribute to resolving the current tensions through dialogue", a Turkish diplomatic source said.

Fidan would reiterate Turkey's opposition "to military interventions against Iran... (over) the regional and global risks such a step would entail", said the source, requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.

-'Security risks'-

The minister had on Wednesday stressed the need for Washington and Tehran to resume discussions over the Iranian nuclear programme, suggesting that was the top priority to be resolved.

"It's wrong to attack Iran. It's wrong to start the war again. Iran is ready to negotiate on the nuclear file again," Fidan had told Al-Jazeera television.

"Turkey supports reaching a peaceful solution to Iran's nuclear programme in the near term and is ready to provide assistance if needed in this regard," the foreign ministry source said.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei confirmed the visit, saying on X that Tehran "is determined to continuously strengthen relations with its neighbours based on the policy of good neighbourliness and common interests".

Analysts say Turkey believes a military intervention against Iran would generate serious security risks, including instability and mass migration, and therefore prioritises diplomacy.

"Turkey's focus in US-Iran relations is not necessarily on resolving all disputes, but on preventing a military intervention," Ankara-based Iranian academic Arif Keskin told AFP.

He said Turkey's stance also aligns with the approach of pro-negotiation circles in Iran.

"At this stage, it is widely acknowledged that the actor that would benefit most from negotiations and a potential agreement would be the Iranian leadership itself," Keskin said.

"Even the initiation of talks is viewed as a significant gain for Iran."

- Contingency plans -

Alongside its diplomatic push, Ankara is assessing additional security precautions along its border with Iran if a US strike destabilises the country, a senior Turkish official told AFP.

Much of the 500-kilometre (310-mile) frontier is secured by a wall, but "it has proven insufficient", said the official, who requested anonymity.

The Turkish authorities have so far avoided the term "buffer zone" but options under review include deploying more troops and expanding technological surveillance systems, the official added.

Turkey began building a concrete wall in 2021 as concerns grew about a potential influx of migrants following the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan.

So far, officials say there is no sign of mass movement toward Turkey linked to developments in Iran.

Earlier this month, the defence ministry said it had detected "no evidence" of large‑scale migration.

Unmanned aerial vehicles continue to conduct round-the-clock reconnaissance along the frontier.

To date, authorities have installed 203 electro‑optical towers, 43 lift towers, 380 kilometres of modular concrete wall, and 553 kilometres of trenches, according to official figures.

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