clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

‘Wrong to start war again’: Turkish foreign minister warns against US attack on Iran

January 28, 2026 at 1:46 pm

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hold a press conference in Ankara, Turkiye on January 27, 2026. [Ahmet Serdar Eser – Anadolu Agency]

Turkiye’s foreign minister warned that a US attack on Iran would be “wrong,” urging Washington and Tehran to resolve their disputes through diplomacy, Anadolu reports.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Hakan Fidan called for regional cooperation as the US deploys military assets in the Middle East amid heightened tensions with Iran. “It’s wrong to start the war again.”

Despite escalating rhetoric between the two nations, Fidan underlined that a diplomatic resolution remains achievable. “Iran is ready to negotiate a nuclear file again,” Fidan said.

The Turkish diplomat advised US officials to address issues with Iran incrementally rather than seeking a comprehensive agreement.

“My advice always to the American friends, close the files one by one with Iran. Start with nuclear, close it, then the others,” he said. “If you put them as a package, all of them, it will be very difficult for our Iranian friends to digest and to really process it and to go through this.”

“And sometimes, it might seem humiliating for them. It will be very difficult to explain to not only themselves, but with the leadership.”

He also said Iran could occupy a “perfect place” in the regional order but must build trust with neighboring countries.

“They (Iranians) need to create trust in the region,” he said. “They need to have attention to how they are perceived by the regional countries, because they are not going anywhere; we are not going anywhere.”

Fidan emphasized that despite different ideologies and sects, regional nations must cooperate within the nation-state system.

READ: Iran says it is ready for war but insists dialogue remains the preferred option