Turkey’s top diplomat said both the US and Iran appeared ready to compromise to secure a nuclear deal, but warned that broadening talks to cover Tehran’s ballistic missile programme would risk “nothing but another war”, Financial Times reports.
Hakan Fidan, who has played an integral role in mediation efforts to avert a conflict, told the FT that Washington had signalled a willingness to be flexible on a key demand that Iran end all uranium enrichment. That condition has long been a critical barrier to a deal, as Iran insists it has a right to enrich as a signatory to the non-proliferation treaty.
The Turkish foreign minister also said he believed Tehran “genuinely wants to reach a real agreement” and would accept restrictions on enrichment levels and a strict inspections regime, like it did in the 2015 agreement with the US and other world powers.
“It is positive that the Americans appear willing to tolerate Iranian enrichment within clearly set boundaries,” said Fidan, who is in constant contact with US, Iranian and regional officials. “The Iranians now recognise that they need to reach a deal with the Americans, and the Americans understand that the Iranians have certain limits. It’s pointless to try to force them.”
He cautioned that if the US “insists on addressing all the issues simultaneously” — a reference to Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal and support for regional militant groups — “I’m afraid even the nuclear file will not move forward . . . the result could be another war in the region”.
“The Americans are deeply concerned about Iran’s nuclear capabilities,” he said. “However, the other issues are closely tied to countries of the region, because missiles and proxies affect regional security; they do not have a global reach.”
Fidan said he was concerned Netanyahu would seek to influence Trump during his White House visit. “For Israel, maintaining a position of military superiority in the region is a central priority,” he said. “The presence of Iranian missiles complicates that objective.”
Fidan stressed that the Trump administration and Iran should avoid the mistakes of the past when regional states felt excluded from negotiations that led to world powers signing the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.
“It will be important for Iran to pair any agreement with the US with steps that strengthen confidence with regional partners . . . that balance is essential,” Fidan said. “There is a significant trust gap with regional countries, and addressing that dimension is essential.”
Fidan said Tehran was aware of the peril it faced in the wake of Israel’s devastating war last year, as well as mass anti-regime protests last month that were the most violent and deadly since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
“I don’t think that regime change will occur,” Fidan said. “Of course, the government organs and some other targets would be badly hit and damaged, destroyed. But the regime as a political entity would be a functioning entity.”
