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Iran minister in Ankara after claims it targeted Israelis

Iran sends envoy to Ankara after being accused of targeting Israelis in Turkey
MENA
1 min read
27 June, 2022
Tehran and Ankara will discuss bilateral and regional issues, and a recent Turkish operation against alleged Iranian agents planning to assassinate Israelis might also be on the agenda.
Hossein Amir Abdollahian, Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs, visited Ankara on Monday. [Meghdad Madadi/ATP Images via Getty]

The Iranian foreign minister visited Turkey on Monday, days after Israelis accused Iran of targeting their nationals on Turkish soil.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian landed in Ankara for talks on bilateral issues and current regional and international developments, the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement.

Abdollahian's visit comes days after Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid thanked Turkish authorities for foiling an attack targeting Israelis in Istanbul.

Israel last week called on its citizens to leave Turkey because of the "real and immediate danger" coming from Iranian operatives. Turkish authorities subsequently apprehended eight people allegedly working for an Iranian intelligence cell, local media reported. 

Iran on Friday called the accusations "ridiculous," claiming Israel was trying to damage ties between Ankara and Tehran.

Rising tensions and mounting accusations between Israel and Iran follows the assassination of Iranian Revolutionary Guards officer Colonel Hassan Sayyad Khodai last month, for which Tehan blamed Israel.

Israel claims its security agency Mossad thwarted at least twelve terror attacks against Israelis in Turkey from 2020 to early 2022.