All eyes are now on the tensions that will occur in the Middle East. After the assassination of Hamas leader Haniyeh and the killing of senior members of Hezbollah, tensions have reached their peak. The moves that Iran, which has vowed revenge, will make are being wondered about. The US continues to keep its ships in the Mediterranean for possible attacks.
TENSIONS REACHED THEIR PEAK WITH THE HANİYE ASSASSINATION
Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Iran-backed Hamas, was assassinated in Tehran, Iran, on July 31, and following this assassination, Iran threatened retaliation against Israel. Iran held Israel responsible for the assassination, while Israel denied responsibility.
USA’S REQUEST FROM TURKEY
“We want all of our allies who have relations with Iran to persuade Iran to reduce tensions, and Turkey is among these countries,” Flake, whose term as ambassador to Turkey will soon end, said at a meeting with reporters in Istanbul.
“THEY SEEM CONFIDENT OF US”
“They are doing everything they can to prevent escalation. They seem more confident than we are that escalation will not occur,” Flake said, referring to Washington’s Turkish counterparts.
S-400 SENDING
The main problems in relations between the US and Turkey in recent years have been the US’s alliance with the YPG, which Turkey considers a terrorist organization, and Turkey’s purchase of S-400 defense systems from Russia.
The purchase of the S-400s led to US sanctions and Turkey’s expulsion from the F-35 program.
US-Türkiye RELATIONS
But Flake said he thought U.S.-Türkiye relations were “in a better place than they’ve been in a long time.”
Flake highlighted Turkey’s “useful role” in the largest prisoner swap between the US and Russia since the Cold War, which took place in Ankara in early August.
“They were not involved in the negotiation side, but they played a significant role on the logistics side,” Flake said.
EMPHASIS ON ERDOĞAN’S HARSH STATEMENTS
Despite the two countries’ differences over Israel’s war in Gaza, Flake said in a June interview with Reuters that Turkey was “strongly anchored” in the West and that the strategic partnership between the two countries had “never been stronger.”
Flake, who stated in his statement today that the situation in Gaza is “very difficult”, said that President Tayyip Erdoğan’s anti-Israeli rhetoric makes it difficult for Turkey to play a mediator role.
“THE FRICTION CONTINUES”
Flake also said that differences between Ankara and Washington had diminished after Washington began “actively” calling for a ceasefire, but friction remained.
Flake said the U.S. remains concerned about military-related hardware being sent from Turkey to Russia, and called on Ankara to increase cooperation to prevent exports.
“RUSSIA’S COMPLAINT IS A GOOD SIGN”
“This remains a concern for us and we raise it frequently and consistently. We will emphasize in our discussions with our counterparts here that our goal is to take away Russia’s warfighting capability,” Flake said.
“We see a significant amount of product coming from Turkey. So we want to have better cooperation and in many ways we are doing that. I know Russia is complaining, so that’s a good sign,” Flake said.