Turkiye urges peaceful reopening of Hormuz, accuses Israel of seeking new adversaries
Shafaq News- Ankara
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday stressed that international passage through the Strait of Hormuz must remain open and free, calling for a peaceful resolution to tensions between the United States and Iran.
“What the whole world wants is that international transit is not blocked. Our position is that it should be reopened through peaceful means,” he said in press remarks. “There are many challenges to involving an international armed peacekeeping force.”
He also emphasized that both Washington and Tehran appear “sincere” about maintaining a ceasefire and recognize its necessity.
Turning to regional dynamics, he described Syria as a “major area of concern” for Turkiye, cautioning that Israel’s current restraint —linked to its conflict with Iran— “does not mean it will not act” there in the future. He argued that Israel “cannot exist without an enemy after Iran,” claiming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to position Turkiye as a new adversary.
Fidan called for a regional security framework in which Middle Eastern countries commit to respecting each other’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security.
On Sunday, US-Iran talks in Pakistan collapsed after marathon negotiations, with Washington citing Tehran’s refusal to abandon nuclear weapons ambitions, while Iran accused the United States of shifting conditions and imposing pressure through a maritime blockade. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) said measures targeting maritime traffic to and from Iranian ports would take effect on April 13 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time, prompting Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters to warn that no port in the Gulf or the Sea of Oman would be safe if Iranian ports were targeted.
