03.03.2026 12:31
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan made important assessments regarding the war environment in our neighboring country, Iran. Minister Fidan emphasized that global stability is under significant risk, stating that Turkey's priority is to stop the attacks and to re-engage diplomacy. Evaluating the possibility of Iran attacking Turkey, Minister Fidan commented, "Turkey always protects itself. We have both the necessary will and the capability for this."
Meeting with the representatives of media organizations in Ankara during the iftar program, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan made striking assessments regarding the war between the US-Israel and Iran.
Emphasizing that Turkey's priority is to stop mutual attacks and return to diplomacy, Minister Fidan responded to the question of whether Iran has the potential to attack Turkey by saying, "Turkey always protects itself. We have the necessary will and capability for this."
Highlights from Minister Fidan's statements;
"Developments are of a nature that could jeopardize both the future of our region and global stability. Iran's direct targeting of US bases in Arab countries in the region increases the likelihood that the steps taken could lead to a larger regional security crisis. Another point is the Strait of Hormuz. The closure of the strait could lead to serious fluctuations in global finance and energy markets. This could force the US to achieve results in a short time."
On the other hand, we see that in the initial phase, the attacks have not led to a significant mobilization among Iran's proxy elements in the region. However, there have been some movements on the Hezbollah side. Currently, there is no visible unrest among the Iranian people that would lead to a 'regime change.'
"ESCALATION OF THE CONFLICT."
The most negative scenario under current conditions is this: the escalation of the conflict and the emergence of an instability environment that engulfs the entire region along with Iran. In addition, there is the energy dimension. The cessation of natural gas flow from Iran or a serious disruption in energy imports from Gulf countries could pose a significant risk to global energy supply security.
We are working separately on the military, security, political, economic, and energy dimensions of this issue; we are continuing our preparations on the steps that can be taken according to possible scenarios. Our fundamental desire, our demand is clear: mutual attacks should stop as soon as possible, and diplomacy should be resumed. We emphasize this clearly in all our discussions.
HOW LONG WILL THE WAR LAST?
Netanyahu certainly wants the threat posed by Iran to be completely eliminated, both for today and for the future. He defined the threat as the capabilities possessed by Iran. Now he defines it as the regime itself, going beyond just capabilities. There is a goal of regime change.
The war was something we were trying to avoid. We fought for this. We also offered creative solutions, frankly. In fact, we have delayed the start of the war. The war was supposed to start earlier, but we managed to delay it a bit with these efforts. It might have reached a conclusion, but they preferred to revert to the old method. This war started again in the midst of negotiations. The Iranians actually characterize the issue of the war starting in the middle of negotiations as a betrayal of diplomacy. We need to seriously consider what will happen next.
Of course, we need to look at the intentions of the attacking forces here. I think Israel and the US will want to eliminate Iran as a threat for the future. Now Iran is also making efforts to produce costs. It is currently producing costs by bombing energy targets in the Gulf. Frankly, we will see how long this cost continues and what happens. But it seems that the response Iran expects will not come. Iran will say that by bombing these areas, they should pressure America to stop the war, but that seems unlikely. I don't know how much longer Iran can sustain this.
However, Iran can indeed disturb Israel with missiles and drones if it uses them seriously.
THE PKK PRESENCE IN IRAN
We had seen signs of a similar movement during the first war in the region. We are closely monitoring whether there will be any movement now. We see that different Kurdish groups are coming together to form an alliance and making joint statements. Of course, we are closely following these developments. We are analyzing how much they will fight with the regime, how much they will fight with other ethnicities in their area, what will happen, what they are targeting, and what will come out of it.
The PKK, like all terrorist organizations, is a structure that takes advantage of the weaknesses and divisions in the countries they are in. There is currently a process in the Parliament regarding a Terror-Free Turkey, and the Commission report has been completed. After this, there will be a discussion ground for political parties to reach agreements, ideas, and harmonies among themselves. What kind of decisions will they make? But what we see is that for a Terror-Free Turkey, there needs to be a Terror-Free region; we have to use technical language to correct this a bit. The issue of a Terror-Free region is somewhat related to Syria, Iraq, and Iran. As long as the organization does not assert its will in the equation in these areas, it is not possible to take certain steps towards a Terror-Free Turkey. We are closely monitoring this. The internal political process is a separate issue. As I said, the political parties have received the report. They are looking at it, and they will probably make a decision. We will see in the new period.
THE POSSIBILITY OF IRAN TARGETING THE ISLAND OF CYPRUS
I don't think there is much risk for Northern Cyprus at this moment. I also think the risk in the South is limited, very limited. There may not be much for civilian facilities.
WILL THE GULF COUNTRIES RESPOND TO IRAN?
Of course, they do not officially declare it, but there are some claims that regional countries have responded to Iran. We are hearing these claims as well. This could be true.
IS THERE A POSSIBILITY OF IRAN'S ATTACKS TURNING TOWARDS TURKEY?
I am speaking independently of the Iran issue: Turkey always protects itself. We have the necessary will and capability for this.
INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TO REDUCE TENSIONS
We are diligently continuing the necessary initiatives with all our counterparts. We are making intense efforts to ensure calm and to create a new peace environment. It is critical to maintain stability in Iran and in our region in general. Therefore, we say at every opportunity that conflicts must end as soon as possible and that the diplomatic process should begin. Here, there is actually not a single-layer negotiation; there is a multi-layered negotiation. First, can we bring the warring parties back to the table? When will the attacking side stop its attack or be ready to stop? The minimum is to reach a military inadequacy that will satisfy them. The minimum condition for stopping the war... The maximum is regime change. In other words, the war can end at the earliest with the destruction or neutralization of basic military capabilities, or at the latest with a regime change in Iran. The realization of this minimum condition will require a certain period and a series of military operations. Iran is a vast geography. Missile systems, radar systems, air defense systems, electronic warfare systems, and naval forces are spread over many places.
We have been talking to Europeans for a few days, Kaja Kallas called and asked. Today France called, we talked for a long time. Now they want to speak with Germany. Merz spoke with our President. Ursula von der Leyen called in the same way. If you want peace, let's work together. We are mobilizing them. Right now, the Gulf countries are facing a serious situation. We are talking with Omanis. There, Oman is still trying to do something. We are talking with Americans.
THE SITUATION OF OUR CITIZENS LIVING IN THE REGION
On one hand, our contacts for a diplomatic solution continue, and on the other hand, we are closely monitoring our citizens in conflict zones. So far, there have been no citizens injured or lost their lives in the incidents. There are about 20,000 of our citizens in Iran, including dual citizens. Both our Turkish citizens and citizens of third countries can currently cross into our country without any issues through our three border gates with Iran. We have a call center, our Consulates, our Embassies, and here the General Directorate of Consular Affairs and Citizenship, meaning we are working 24 hours a day. We receive a report every hour. Right now, there is actually no major security issue, but there has been a problem with the return of our citizens who are on vacation, especially in Dubai, because the airspace is closed except for Saudi Arabia. I believe Saudi Arabia opened its airspace since yesterday. Our citizens can come by plane via Riyadh and Jeddah. There are also those who live and work there. There may not be many who are on vacation. We are in close communication with them. A total of 1,500 of our citizens from the entire region have reached out to our Consulate Call Center to request information.
THE POSSIBILITY OF A WAVE OF MIGRATION FROM IRAN TO TURKEY
Since the June War, we have been holding coordination meetings with the relevant units under the coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Interior, AFAD, Red Crescent, Defense, MIT… We are making all kinds of plans. Our people should be assured about this. We have the necessary resources and plans. Right now, Iran is not allowing its citizens to leave the border. Iran is not permitting it at the moment. Therefore, no one is coming to us from Iran right now. But right now, the Iranian people, as we saw in the previous war, did nothing for 12-13 days.