Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned Saturday against attempts to stir civil war inside Iran. He said such efforts would be a “historic” mistake.
Fidan spoke after NATO intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran heading towards Turkey. He stressed that any attempt to stir civil war in Iran would target ethnic or religious fault lines, creating the most dangerous scenario for the region.
“We are against all scenarios that aim to instigate a civil war in Iran,” Fidan told journalists in Istanbul. He added that internal conflict in Iran would cause massive civilian suffering and displacement. Millions could flee to neighboring countries, worsening regional instability.
The remarks come amid reports that the U.S. was considering arming Kurdish groups to infiltrate Iran. President Donald Trump clarified that Washington does not plan to involve Kurdish forces in any offensive. “We’re very friendly with the Kurds, but we don’t want to make the war any more complex than it already is,” Trump said.
Fidan said he raised the matter with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who denied any American involvement. Instead, Fidan pointed to Israel’s strategy of using Kurdish groups in the region as proxies. Such actions, he warned, would provoke Turkey, which has fought a decades-long conflict with the PKK.
Turkey emphasized that a civil war in Iran would not only harm civilians but also destabilize the region further. “After Iraq and Syria, a long period of uncertainty, war, and turmoil in Iran is not in anyone’s interest,” Fidan said. “Any internal crisis there would have a ripple effect spreading throughout the region. That’s why we’re trying to stop it.”
Fidan also cautioned Tehran after the missile incident. “We are not a country that is easily provoked,” he said. “If this continues, our advice is: be careful, don’t let anyone in Iran embark on such an adventure.”
Turkey’s warning underlines the growing concern over regional stability and the potential consequences of efforts to stir civil war inside Iran.
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