Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said he had conveyed concerns about a possible Israeli attack to the leadership in Tehran.
Published January 24, 2026
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said there were signs that Israel was looking for opportunities to attack Iran and warned that such a move could further destabilize the region.
“I hope they find another way, but the reality is that Israel in particular is looking for an opportunity to attack Iran,” Fidan said in an interview with Turkish broadcaster NTV aired on Friday.
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When asked specifically whether this assessment applies to both the United States and Israel, Fidan said that Israel in particular seeks such opportunities, Turkiye Today news agency reported.
The foreign minister added that he expressed his concerns directly to Iranian officials during a recent visit to Iran.
“When I went to Tehran recently, I told them all about the process as their friend,” Fidan said. “And a friend told me the bitter truth,” he said, according to Turkiye Today newspaper.
Fidan’s warning came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday that Turkiye opposes any foreign intervention in Iran and values peace and stability in the neighboring country.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Friday that Tehran would treat any attack by its enemies as “an all-out war against us.” This is the latest coup in the escalating war of words between the US government and Iranian leadership.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced he was sending a “fleet” of naval ships to the Gulf region with Iran in mind, again tightening his rhetoric against Tehran after cooling off last week’s comments when he apparently backed away from threatening to attack Iran amid widespread anti-government protests.
“If the United States violates Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, we will respond,” a senior Iranian official told Reuters.
“We hope that this military buildup is not intended for a real conflict, but our military is preparing for the worst-case scenario. For this reason, everything is on high alert in Iran,” the official said.
“This time, we will treat any attack against us, whether limited or unrestricted, surgical or kinetic, as an all-out war against us, and we will respond in the harshest possible way to resolve it,” the official added.
“Countries under constant military threat from the United States have no choice but to use all means possible to push back against those who seek to attack Iran and, if possible, restore balance.”
US media reported that the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln and its strike group have changed course from the South China Sea to the Middle East and are expected to arrive in the Gulf region within days.
The last time the U.S. military had a major naval buildup was in June 2024, in support of Israel’s 12-day war against Iran and ahead of a U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear program.
