A diplomatic falling out between Turkey and Iran escalated on Tuesday as Ankara summoned a senior Iranian diplomat – the latest development in a war of words between officials from the neighbouring countries.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry summoned Iran’s charge d’affaires in Ankara after its ambassador in Tehran was called in for a meeting over comments made by the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to Al Jazeera Arabic. In an interview with the Qatari news channel last week, Mr Fidan angered the Iranian government by describing “the great risk” in what he said was Tehran’s policy of “conducting foreign policy through militias in regional countries”.
This kind of foreign policy approach “needs to be changed”, he said. “If you do not want a stone to be thrown at your window, you will not throw a stone at someone else's window,” he added, in an apparent reference to Iran suffering blowback from the network of militant groups it supports across the region.
In response to a question about Mr Fidan's remarks in his weekly press conference on Monday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei described comments from Turkish officials as “very unconstructive". The same day, Turkey's ambassador in Tehran, Hicabi Kırlangıc, was summoned for a meeting with Mahmoud Heydari, the Iranian Foreign Ministry's director general for the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe.
"The common interests of the two countries and the sensitivity of regional conditions require avoiding wrongful comments and unreal analyses that could lead to differences and tensions in our bilateral relations," Mr Heydari said, according to Reuters.
Iranian politicians also responded with anger to Mr Fidan's remarks. Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said Iran would not passively wait for a "stone to hit its window", but would instead dismantle "the house" of its opponents, the state-aligned Tehran Times newspaper reported.
In Ankara, Iran's charge d'affaires was called in for a meeting in which Turkish officials brought up "the claims of some Iranian officials against Turkey", the Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said in written remarks to journalists on Tuesday. “Recently, we have seen that Iranian officials have been voicing their criticisms of Turkey more in public,” Mr Keceli said.
“We believe that foreign policy issues should not be used as material for domestic politics in any case.” He did not publicly state specific comments from Tehran that Turkish officials wanted to address.
As two middle-tier powers with similar population sizes, Iran and Turkey have a complicated relationship. Governments of both countries acknowledge that they have differing opinions on some regional issues. In Syria, Turkey directly backed rebels against the former dictator Bashar Al Assad, while Iran, alongside Russia, was one of the Assad regime’s closest allies. Turkey is a close partner of Azerbaijan, while Tehran is wary of Baku’s close ties with Israel and Western nations.
At the same time, the neighbouring countries are strong economic partners: trade volume in 2023 was valued at $5.49 billion, according to figures published by Turkey’s Foreign Ministry. The majority of the trade is Turkish exports to Iran, including machinery and parts, plastics and various chemical products, agricultural products, and metal ores.
In both December 2024 and January 2025 Iranians were the second largest group of foreign purchasers of property in Turkey after Russians, according to official Turkish data. “We attach great value to our relations with Iran,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman’s statement continued. “Strengthening relations between Turkey and Iran is important to us.”
Iranian officials also sought to hedge their criticism by encouraging closer future ties. “We believe that Turkey is both aware of the importance of maintaining and promoting bilateral relations based on the national interests of the two nations, and is committed to it,” said Mr Bagheri, of Iran’s Foreign Ministry.
This is not the first time that diplomatic tensions have flared between Turkey and Iran. In 2016, officials in Ankara blamed the killing of four Turkish soldiers in northern Syria on an Iran-made drone. Iran has long accused Turkey of supporting extremist groups in the same country.
England v South Africa schedule
- First Test: Starts Thursday, Lord's, 2pm (UAE)
- Second Test: July 14-18, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 2pm
- Third Test: The Oval, London, July 27-31, 2pm
- Fourth Test: Old Trafford, Manchester, August 4-8
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
The 12
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs: 2019 BMW X4
Price, base / as tested: Dh276,675 / Dh346,800
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 354hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 1,550rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.0L / 100km
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
2024%20Dubai%20Marathon%20Results
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
