![]() Persian and Turkic communities across the world celebrate this day as Nooruz, deriving from the Farsi word for “new day.” It was the first official visit to Israel by a Turkish official in 15 years.No, this post is not 3 months late - today really is the beginning of the new year, or at least one interpretation of it. March 21 marks the vernal equinox, on which a 24-hour period is split perfectly between day and night. The latest rapprochement has been led by Israel’s mostly ceremonial president, Isaac Herzog, who has held several telephone calls with Erdogan and visited Turkey in March, becoming the first Israeli leader to do so in 14 years.įoreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visited Israel last month. The two countries have not reappointed their ambassadors. ![]() ![]() Turkey recalled its ambassador in 2018 after the United States recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, prompting Israel to respond in kind. Israel apologised to Turkey for the deaths under a US-brokered agreement, but reconciliation efforts stalled. The countries withdrew their ambassadors in 2010 after Israeli forces stormed a humanitarian flotilla bound for Gaza, which has been under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade since Hamas came to power there in 2007. Turkey’s embrace of Hamas, the movement that governs the besieged Gaza Strip, has angered Israel. Turkey and Israel were once close allies, but relations grew tense under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is a vocal critic of Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians. Turkey, beset by economic troubles, has been trying to end its international isolation by normalising ties with several countries in the Middle East, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the IRGC said on Thursday it was replacing its veteran intelligence chief with no reasons given as to why. Turkey’s private IHA news agency reported Iran sent agents disguised as businessmen and tourists to Istanbul to assassinate Israelis in retaliation for Khodaei’s murder and other attacks. Tehran alleged Israel was responsible for the killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) Colonel Hassan Sayyad Khodaei in his Tehran home on May 22. Iran and Israel have been engaged in a years-long shadow war but tensions have ratcheted up following a string of high-profile incidents Tehran has blamed on Israel. “We have delivered the necessary messages,” he said, without elaborating. Standing next to Lapid, Cavusoglu said Turkey “cannot permit these kinds of incidents taking place in our country”. ![]() Ankara responded by issuing a statement that said Turkey was a safe country. The travel warning angered Turkey, whose economy depends on tourism to a large extent. Our immediate goal is to bring about calm that will enable us to change the travel warning to ,” said Lapid. “For its part, Israel won’t sit idly by when there are attempts to harm its citizens in Israel and around the world. The warning said Israeli citizens could be targets of Iranian attacks. No immediate response from Iran was available.Įarlier this month, Israel issued a warning for its citizens to avoid travel to Turkey and urging Israelis in Turkey to leave immediately. Police seized two pistols and two silencers in searches conducted in houses and hotels where the suspects were staying, according to the report. Hurriyet newspaper reported Turkish authorities arrested five Iranian nationals on Wednesday suspected of involvement in an alleged plot to assassinate Israeli citizens in Istanbul. ![]() Lapid arrived in Turkey on Thursday for talks with Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu as the two countries press ahead with efforts to repair ties strained over Turkey’s strong support for the Palestinians. We are confident that Turkey knows how to respond to the Iranians on this matter.” “We’re not only talking about the murder of innocent Israeli tourists, but also a clear violation of Turkish sovereignty by Iranian terror. These efforts are ongoing,” Lapid said during a visit to Turkey. “The lives of Israeli citizens have been saved in recent weeks thanks to security and diplomatic cooperation between Israel and Turkey. Lapid warned Israel would not “sit idly by’ in the face of threats to its citizens from Iran. Keep reading list of 4 items list 1 of 4 Turkey ‘playing a balancing act’ between Tel Aviv and Tehran list 2 of 4 ‘Come to your senses’: Erdogan criticises Greece over Aegean list 3 of 4 Why Turkey, Greece remain on collision course over Aegean islands list 4 of 4 ‘A new era’: Saudi Arabia’s MBS in Turkey as nations mend ties end of list ![]()
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