US seeks Türkiye’s help in urging Iran to de-escalate tensions

The United States has called on Türkiye and other allies with ties to Iran to persuade Tehran to de-escalate rising tensions in the Middle East, U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye Jeff Flake stated Tuesday.

Iran-Israel tensions

The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Iran-backed Hamas, in Tehran on July 31, has intensified the already volatile situation.

Iran has blamed Israel for the killing, although Israel has not claimed responsibility. The assassination has prompted threats of revenge from Iran against Israel, which is currently engaged in a conflict with Hamas in Gaza.

“We ask all of our allies that have any relations with Iran to prevail on them to de-escalate, and that includes Türkiye,” Ambassador Flake said during a roundtable discussion with journalists in Istanbul.

He noted Turkish officials seemed more optimistic than their U.S. counterparts about the situation not escalating further.

US-Türkiye Relations

Flake acknowledged the strained relations between the U.S. and Türkiye in recent years, particularly because of the U.S. alliance with the PKK/YPG terrorist organization’s Syrian branch SDF/YPG and Türkiye’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems, which led to U.S. sanctions and Türkiye’s removal from the F-35 jet program.

However, he noted that U.S.-Türkiye relations have recently improved, stating that they are “in a better place than we’ve been in a while.”

Flake also praised Türkiye’s role in facilitating a major prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russia in Ankara earlier this month. “They weren’t involved in the negotiation side, but on the logistics side, they played a significant role,” he said.

Challenges in US-Türkiye cooperation

The ongoing conflict in Gaza has been a point of contention between Ankara and Washington. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s strong rhetoric against Israel has complicated Türkiye’s role as a mediator according to Flake.

Flake also said Ankara appears to believe the current Israel-Iran-Hezbollah tensions won’t devolve into an all-out war.

“They’re doing what they can to make sure that it doesn’t escalate,” he says of Washington’s Turkish interlocutors, adding that they “seem more confident than we are that it won’t escalate.”

US concerns over Türkiye-Russia military trade

Flake expressed ongoing concerns about the flow of military-linked hardware from Türkiye to Russia, urging Ankara to increase cooperation in preventing such exports.

“It remains a concern of ours, and we raise it frequently and consistently,” Flake said.

He emphasized the U.S. goal of denying Russia the resources to continue its military operations, noting that while there has been some progress, significant items are still being exported through Türkiye.