Erdogan Offers Mediation Between Iran and the United States as Pezeshkian Calls for Conditional Diplomacy

Turkey has expressed its readiness to help reduce tensions between Iran and the United States, while the Iranian president has tied any diplomatic engagement with Washington to an end to threats.

On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan informed his Iranian counterpart, Massoud Pezeshkian, of his country’s willingness to help “de-escalate” tensions between Tehran and Washington, according to a statement from the Turkish presidency.

The statement said that Erdogan “stressed that Turkey is ready to play a mediating role between Iran and the United States to reduce escalation and resolve problems,” noting that the two sides discussed “the growing military tensions in the region.”

The phone call coincided with a visit to Turkey by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Conditional diplomacy

For its part, the Iranian presidency announced that President Massoud Pezeshkian told Erdogan that Washington must “stop threatening military intervention in order to give diplomacy a chance.”

It added in a statement that “the success of any diplomatic initiative depends on the good faith of the parties involved and on the rejection of hostile actions and threats in the region.”

Earlier on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Istanbul to meet his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, as Ankara seeks to ease tensions between Tehran and Washington.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to launch an attack on Iran over the “suppression” of protests, while Washington has built up its military presence in the region, led by a naval fleet headed by the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln.

The U.S. president warned Tehran that time was running out on its nuclear file to avoid military intervention.

In response, Iran has threatened a “crushing” retaliation against any American strike.