Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked US President Donald Trump to refrain from launching further strikes on Iran during a phone conversation on Saturday, Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin said. The appeal came as Turkey and other countries in the region intensified diplomatic efforts to prevent renewed fighting.
Addressing a conference in Ankara on Monday, Kalin warned that another American attack would set off a fresh cycle of regional violence. He said mediators were advancing a seven-point proposal that he considered fair, although the parties still needed to resolve the order in which they would fulfil their commitments.
The proposal would give Iran relief from sanctions and access to frozen funds. Tehran, in exchange, would pledge not to acquire nuclear weapons and agree to work with the International Atomic Energy Agency to initiate separate nuclear negotiations. Iran would subsequently reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to Kalin. "It's just a matter of sequencing right now who will take the first step," he said.
Kalin said an agreement within the coming days could avert a strike, but warned that new US attacks could also occur within days if negotiations failed. Even a minor incident could spark another round of conflict, he cautioned. He urged Iran to show more flexibility to help the diplomatic process move forward.
Further meetings could provide opportunities to advance the proposal. Erdogan is expected to receive regional leaders in Antalya alongside the Cop31 climate summit. Kalin also said Qatar would host US Vice President JD Vance and senior Iranian national security official Mohsen Rezaei next week, describing those talks as a significant opening for a breakthrough.
An Iranian source familiar with the matter offered a much less optimistic assessment to Middle East Eye, saying there was little expectation that Washington would proceed with the agreement. The source anticipated another escalation soon and said Tehran would respond forcefully against US bases both within the region and beyond it.
Footage published by some Iranian media outlets over the weekend suggested that US bases in Europe could be attacked. That prompted discussion in Turkey about how Ankara, as a Nato member, might respond if an attack led to action by the alliance.
The Iranian source accused European countries of aggravating tensions between Washington and Tehran. The source said potential targets would be American bases used by US forces to attack Iran, rather than European bases. Asked about possible Nato action, the source argued that European military capabilities did not surpass those of the United States and maintained that Europeans should not be concerned because only American bases would be targeted.
