DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Turkey is attempting to bring both the U.S. and Iranian officials to the negotiating table, possibly by the end of the week, in hopes of easing the threat of U.S. military action against Iran.

Neither the U.S. nor Iran has confirmed whether they plan to take part in any negotiations. Two Turkish officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, said Turkey is trying to organize a meeting between U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian leaders. The meeting could take place as soon as the end of the week, one of the officials said.

The military has moved the USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers into the Middle East, but it remains unclear whether U.S. President Donald Trump will decide to use force against the Iranian government, as he has suggested he might do in retribution for their devastating crackdown on last month’s protests.

“Trump is trying to calibrate a response to Iran’s mass killing of protesters that punishes Iranian leaders without also embroiling the United States in a new, open-ended conflict in the region,” the New York-based Soufan Center think tank said Monday.

An Arab diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting has not been confirmed said there had been discussions about Turkey hosting a high-level meeting to bring Arab and Muslim countries together with the United States and Iran.

Turkey’s role

Trump also has sought to pressure Iran to make a deal that would constrain its nuclear program. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Witkoff met multiple times last year in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program in Rome and Oman, but never finalized a deal. On June 13, Israel launched attacks on Iran that sparked a 12-day war between the countries, effectively halting those talks. The U.S. bombed three Iranian nuclear sites during the war.

Baghaei of the Iranian Foreign Ministry declined to give any specifics about the possibility of talks in Ankara. The U.S. didn’t immediately comment on the possible talks.

Witkoff is expected to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli security officials on Tuesday, according to a White House official who was not authorized to comment publicly about the talks and spoke on condition of anonymity. He will travel to Abu Dhabi later in the week for Russia-Ukraine talks, the official said.

EU sanctions

Also on Monday, Iran said it had summoned all European Union ambassadors in the country to protest the bloc’s listing of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terror group.

The 27-nation bloc agreed to list the Guard as a terror group last week over its part in the crackdown on nationwide protests in January that killed thousands of people and saw tens of thousands of others detained.

Other countries, including the U.S. and Canada, have previously designated the Guard as a terrorist organization. While the move is largely symbolic, it adds to the economic pressure squeezing Iran.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told journalists that the ambassadors had begun to be summoned on Sunday and that process went into Monday.

“We think that in coming days, a decision will be made about a reciprocal action,” Baghaei said.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker said Sunday that the Islamic Republic now considers all EU militaries to be terrorist groups, citing a 2019 law. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, said it was keeping diplomatic channels open with Tehran, despite the tensions, and urged restraint from military action.

The Guard emerged from Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution as a force meant to protect the Shiite cleric-overseen government and was later enshrined in its constitution. It operates in parallel with the regular armed forces and has expanded into private enterprise, allowing it to thrive.

The Guard’s Basij force likely was key in putting down the demonstrations, starting in earnest from Jan. 8, when authorities cut off the internet and international telephone calls for the nation of 85 million people. Videos that have come out of Iran via Starlink satellite dishes and other means show men likely belonging to its forces shooting and beating protesters.

On Monday, the U.K. government joined a number of countries that sanctioned Iran’s interior minister, who oversees the country’s police, and nine other Iranians for their alleged role in facilitating the crackdown. They were subjected to immediate asset freezes and travel bans.

Strait of Hormuz drill

Baghaei also said an exercise by the Guard in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all of the global oil trade passes, was “ongoing based on its timetable.”

Iran warned ships last week that a drill would be carried out on Sunday and Monday, but prior to Baghaei’s comments hadn’t acknowledged it taking place. The U.S. military’s Central Command issued a strong warning to Iran not to harass its warships and aircraft or impede commercial vessels moving through the strait.

Satellite photos taken Sunday by Planet Labs PBC and analyzed by The Associated Press showed small vessels moving at speed in the strait between Iran’s Qeshm and Hengam islands, some distance away from the corridor commercial vessels take. The Guard relies on a fleet of small, fast-attack ships in the strait.

Asked whether Iran could face a war, Baghaei told the public “don’t worry at all.” He declined to discuss whether Trump set a deadline for Iran to respond to Washington’s demands regarding the protests and Iran’s nuclear program.

State television host

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported on Monday that prosecutors in Tehran filed charges against the head of state television’s Ofogh channel, as well as producers and the host of a program who mocked those killed in the crackdown.

The program, which aired Saturday, saw the host reference allegations made abroad about Iran hiding bodies of the dead in freezers to bring out as victims if the U.S. attacks the country. The host asked viewers a multiple-choice question about where Iran would hide the bodies, listing things like ice cream freezers and supermarket refrigerators.

The crackdown on the demonstrations killed at least 6,848 people, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in other rounds of unrest in Iran. It fears more may be dead. The AP has been unable to independently assess the death toll. An additional 49,930 people have been arrested, the Human Rights Activists News Agency said.

As of Jan. 21, Iran’s government put the death toll at a far lower 3,117, saying 2,427 were civilians and security forces, labeling the rest “terrorists.” In the past, Iran’s theocracy has undercounted or not reported fatalities from unrest. However, the country’s presidency published a list of names Sunday it said belonged to 2,986 of those killed, something it hasn’t done in past protests.

___

Suzan Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Sam McNeil in Brussels, Aamer Madhani and Matthew Lee in Washington, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Sylvia Hui in London contributed to this report.

ISTANBUL (AP) — Iraqi calligrapher Ali Zaman gazes with pride at his masterpiece — a colossal, handwritten manuscript of the Quran that has taken six years of craft and devotion to complete.

The finished work consists of 302 double sided scrolls, each measuring 4 meters (13 feet) in length and 1.5 meters in width. The sheets, resembling heavy parchment, were custom made for Zaman with a blend of traditional materials including eggs, corn starch and alum.

“Anytime I think of this Quran … it gives me very nice feeling that the mighty God gave me the life to be able to finish this thing and complete it. I feel very proud,” the 54-year-old told The Associated Press at a mosque in Istanbu l where the manuscript is kept.

Islamic calligraphy is regarded as one of the most valued artistic traditions in the Muslim world. The art form served to preserve and embellish Islam ’s holy book and was later also used to adorn mosques, palaces and manuscripts.

In Turkey, it flourished during the Ottoman era when the art was supported by the state and calligraphers developed distinctive styles.

Today, Istanbul is considered an important center for the art, known as “hat” in Turkish.

Art expert Umit Coskunsu says that because of the Islamic tradition’s restrictions on depicting figures, calligraphy became a central form of artistic expression. He describes “hat” as a form of worship.

“The art of hat is not just calligraphy, it is seen as a means of worshipping God and coming closer to Him,” Coskunsu said.

Zaman was born in Ranya, a town in Sulaymaniyah governorate, in Iraq’s northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

He moved his family to Istanbul in 2017 to pursue his Quran project and to hone his craft because, he says, the art of calligraphy is more valued in Turkey than in his home country.

Zaman says he developed an interest in Islamic calligraphy around the age of 12 when he was first exposed to it in Iraq.

“The art of calligraphy was very attractive to me… I felt that I could find my soul in it,” he said.

Each sheet of the manuscript was entirely handwritten. Zaman says he labored from dawn to dusk over a period of six years in a small room reserved for him at the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque in Istanbul.

The manuscript is being touted as the world’s largest, though it has not received that recognition officially. According to Guinness World Records, the largest printed Quran was achieved by the Holy Quran Museum in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in March 2025.

Zaman’s son remembers long absences while his father worked on the project.

“We only saw him when we would bring him food or when he came home at night to sleep,” said Rekar Zaman. “Thank God, we see more of him now.”

The manuscript is stored in stacked scrolls, and covered for protection from dust and moisture, at the mosque where he created it.

His ultimate wish is for it to go to a buyer who can put it on public display.

“I want for this Quran to be in a country — in a museum, or in a place that is special for calligraphy — where it can be appreciated and valued,” Zaman said.

__

Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser contributed from Ankara, Turkey.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. allies and partners in the Middle East again are urging restraint from both the United States and Iran as the Trump administration warns of a possible strike and builds up its military presence in the region, according to an Arab diplomat familiar with the matter.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Oman and Qatar have all been in touch with leaders in Washington and Tehran to make the case that an escalation by either or both sides would cause massive destabilization throughout the region and affect energy markets, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic discussions.

Arab and Muslim states in the region fear that any type of U.S. attack on Iran would prompt a response from Tehran that would, in the immediate term, likely be directed at them or American interests in their countries that could cause collateral damage, the official said.

Saudi Arabia’s defense minister is in Washington for high-level talks with the Trump administration and is also expected to deliver that message, the official added. Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman said on social media Friday that he discussed ”efforts to advance regional and global peace and stability” with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The words of caution come as President Donald Trump has shifted his rationale for possible U.S. military action against Iran in recent days from a response to the deadly crackdown on nationwide protests to a deterrent of the country’s nuclear program. That is even as he insists Iranian nuclear sites were “obliterated” in U.S. strikes in June.

Trump says he wants to make a deal

Trump on Friday said he hoped to make a deal with Iran but told reporters: “If we don’t make a deal, we’ll see what happens.”

He was cryptic when asked if he had given Iran a deadline, saying, “Only they know for sure.” He affirmed that he had communicated his threats to the country’s officials directly but did not offer any details.

One administration official said Trump’s return to the nuclear issue should not necessarily be seen as a shift in tactics but rather part of a broader approach toward dealing with Iran and the threat the U.S. believes it poses to its people and the region.

This official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the president’s thinking, said Trump had initially focused on the protests inside Iran as a way of both encouraging demonstrators who might at some point force a change in Iranian policies and warning Tehran of consequences for mistreating them.

Trump said Friday that Iran heeded his earlier earnings about holding off from executing protesters, which he said he appreciated, but he then acknowledged, “A lot of people are being killed.”

At the same time, Iran’s nuclear threat has remained the larger concern for both the U.S. and the region, particularly Israel. So, the official said it made sense to Trump to remind Iran’s leadership that the ultimate goal is to eliminate that threat.

“Hopefully Iran will quickly ‘Come to the Table’ and negotiate a fair and equitable deal – NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS – one that is good for all parties,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform this week. “Time is running out, it is truly of the essence!”

Iran says it’s ready for talks but also ‘ready for war’

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday while meeting Turkish officials in Istanbul that his country is ready for dialogue to resolve tensions but that there are no concrete plans for talks with his U.S. counterparts.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, just as it is ready for negotiations, it is also ready for war,” he added.

Ankara has been working to reduce the tensions, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offering during a telephone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian earlier Friday to act as a “facilitator” between Iran and the U.S., according to his office.

Earlier in the month, the Republican president backed down from ordering any strikes after telling Iranians to keep protesting, to “take over” government institutions and that “help is on the way.” He said he had received assurances that Iran would not execute some 800 of protesters it had detained.

Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests began as demonstrations in late December against economic woes but broadened into a challenge to the Islamic Republic’s theocracy. Activists say the crackdown has killed at least 6,540 people.

Trump, meanwhile, referenced a “massive armada” of U.S. warships in the region. The U.S. military has bolstered its presence with the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers, which brought thousands of additional service members and joined other destroyers and ships in the Middle East.

The Arab official said the region’s message to the U.S. is that it should proceed with extreme caution, mindful of the havoc that could ensue. The message to Iran, meanwhile, is that if the U.S. does strike, it should carefully calibrate how it responds and not take action that would affect its neighbors, the official said.

U.S. assets in Qatar, for instance, were the target of Iranian retaliation after Trump ordered airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last year.

The official added that ideally nothing would come to pass other than a period of extreme anxiety but stressed that the situation was unpredictable and that no one other than Trump knows if an attack will be coming.

___

Amiri reported from New York. Associated Press writer Mehmet Guzel in Istanbul contributed to this report.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey is celebrating the latest developments in Syria, where the new government has effectively defeated a major Kurdish-led force with an abrupt offensive.

Ankara has long viewed armed groups led by Kurds — an ethnic minority with large populations in eastern Turkey, Iraq and northern Syria — as a threat as Turkey as fought to quell the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, whose decades‑long insurgency cost tens of thousands of lives.

Coming just a few months after a Kurdish militant group in Turkey agreed to lay down its arms, the collapse of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces is a major step toward Ankara’s regional goals.

Kurdish group was swept aside by new Syrian government

In just two weeks, Syria’s Kurdish‑led Syrian Democratic Forces — once the United States’ main partner against the Islamic State group in Syria — lost most of its territory in northern Syria to an offensive launched by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

The SDF was then forced to accept a deal under which it would dissolve and merge its tens of thousands with Syrian government’s military as individuals rather than in a bloc, after the failure of months-long negotiations on the integration of its troops into the new Syrian army.

The SDF was established a decade ago with U.S. support as a coalition of militias to fight IS. Its backbone was made up of a Syrian Kurdish armed group affiliated with the PKK.

Al-Sharaa took power after the ouster of the Assad government in December 2024, and has been consolidating authority while dealing with challenges from the remnants of pro-Assad groups as well as some former opposition groups that want to maintain autonomy from the state. In particular, minority religious and ethnic groups have viewed the Sunni Arab-led government with suspicion. Turkey has been a key backer of al‑Sharaa, providing political and military support to strengthen his government.

Washington declined to intervene on behalf of the Kurdish group, shifting its support to the nascent government and focusing on brokering a ceasefire.

Turkey played behind-the-scenes role in offensive

“The fact that the PKK-linked SDF has essentially lost its influence and territorial hold is certainly a very favorable outcome for Turkey,” said Sinan Ulgen, director of the Istanbul-based EDAM research center. “The extension of the capabilities of the new Syrian government is also another favorable outcome.”

Ulgen cautioned, however, that the Syrian government’s recent gains could prove temporary if al-Sharaa fails to stabilize the northeast of the country.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan extended congratulations to the Syrian government in remarks to his ruling party’s legislators on Wednesday.

“From the very beginning, Turkey has strongly defended the existence of a single Syrian state,” he said. “We have repeatedly declared that we will not consent to any separatist structure along our southern borders that poses a threat to our country’s security.”

Turkey not only benefited from the developments but played a supportive role, advising the Syrian government during operations that led to the withdrawal of SDF forces from Aleppo, Turkish security officials said.

Turkey’s intelligence agency remained in contact with the Syrian administration to prevent harm to civilians and the safe evacuation of SDF members and their families, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Turkey also kept in touch with the United States, the international coalition against the Islamic State group, and other regional countries during the offensive, they said.

Decline of Kurdish group removes of a source of tension between Turkey and US

Also key to the Syrian government’s success was the willingness of the U.S. to see a former ally dismantled. Experts say the SDF counted on Washington’s support when it rejected an earlier deal proposed by al-Sharaa.

Erdogan’s warm personal ties with U.S. President Donald Trump likely helped win the U.S. President over, Ulgen said. But he added that the shift in U.S. policy was based on the White House’s assessment that its “interlocutor in Syria should be the new government and not a non-state entity.”

Israel refrains from intervening

The development also came despite tensions between Turkey and Israel over Syria.

Some SDF representatives openly called for Israeli intervention during the recent clashes, citing Israel’s past support for the Druze community during violence in Sweida province in southern Syria, but Israel also chose to stand aside.

Ulgen said a key turning point was a recent meeting between Syrian and Israeli officials in Paris, during which Syria effectively recognized Israel’s zone of influence along its southern border.

Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, an expert on Turkey at the German Marshall Fund, also said Syria and Israel reached a “tacit agreement” on the SDF during the meeting in Paris but added that the United States’ support to the Syrian government played a key role.

Boost to Turkey’s peace effort with the PKK

Turkish officials now hope that the integration of the SDF into Syrian government structures will help advance Ankara’s latest peace initiative aimed at ending the conflict with the PKK.

In May, the PKK announced that it would disarm and disband as part of reconciliation effort, following a call by its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan. The PKK staged a symbolic disarmament ceremony in northern Iraq in the summer, and later announced that it was withdrawing its remaining fighters from Turkey to Iraq.

The SDF, however, rejected pressure to follow suit, insisting that Ocalan’s call applied only to the PKK.

“Now that handicap has been eliminated” Ulgen said. The analyst however, cautioned that Ankara must still address potential frustrations among its own Kurdish population should tensions arise in Syria.

On Tuesday, Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party, warned that any violence against Kurds in Syria would undermine peace efforts in Turkey.

“At a time when we are talking about internal peace and calm, can there really be peace if Kurds are being massacred in Syria and the feelings of Kurds in Turkey are ignored?” said the party’s co-chair, Tulay Hatimogullari.

JERUSALEM (AP) — At least four more countries on Sunday said the United States has invited them to join President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace,” a new body meant to oversee next steps in Gaza that’s showing ambitions for a broader mandate in global affairs.

A $1 billion contribution secures permanent membership on the Trump-led board instead of a three-year appointment, which has no contribution requirement, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity about the charter, which hasn’t been made public. The official said the money raised would go to rebuilding Gaza.

The board will be made up of world leaders. The U.S. is expected to announce its official list of members in the coming days, likely during the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Jordan, Greece, Cyprus and Pakistan on Sunday said they had received invitations to join the board. Canada, Turkey, Egypt, Paraguay, Argentina and Albania have already said they were invited. It was not clear how many have been invited in all.

Those on the board will oversee next steps in Gaza as the ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10 moves into its challenging second phase. It includes a new Palestinian committee in Gaza, the deployment of an international security force, disarmament of Hamas and reconstruction of the war-battered territory.

In letters sent Friday to world leaders inviting them to be “founding members,” Trump said the Board of Peace would “embark on a bold new approach to resolving global conflict.”

That could become a potential rival to the United Nations, the global body created in the wake of World War II. Its clout has been diminished by major funding cuts by the Trump administration and other donors, and its most powerful body, the U.N. Security Council, has been blocked by U.S. vetoes from taking action to end the war in Gaza.

Trump’s invitation letters for the Board of Peace noted that the Security Council had endorsed the U.S. 20-point Gaza ceasefire plan, which includes the board’s creation. The letters were posted on social media by some invitees.

The White House last week also announced an executive committee of leaders who will carry out the Board of Peace’s vision, but Israel on Saturday objected that the committee “was not coordinated with Israel and is contrary to its policy,” without details. The statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office was rare criticism of its close ally in Washington.

The executive committee’s members include U.S. Secretary of State Rubio, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, World Bank President Ajay Banga and Trump’s deputy national security adviser Robert Gabriel, along with an Israeli businessman, billionaire Yakir Gabay.

Members also include representatives of ceasefire monitors Qatar, Egypt and Turkey. Turkey has a strained relationship with Israel but good relations with Hamas and could play an important role in persuading the group to yield power in Gaza and disarm.

___

Associated Press writer Joshua Boak in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.

___

Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

KAPIKOY BORDER CROSSING, Turkey (AP) — A border crossing with Iran in Turkey’s eastern province of Van has not seen a major influx of Iranians seeking asylum from the unrest in their country, but many have been making short jaunts across the border to get around communications blackouts.

Internet service has largely been blocked in Iran since Jan. 8 during mass protests and a violent government crackdown, although on Saturday witnesses said text messaging and very limited internet services began functioning again briefly in parts of Iran.

While the protests have largely subsided and an uneasy calm has settled over much of Iran, the ongoing communications blackouts have created difficulties, particularly for those who rely on the internet for work.

Iranians enter Turkey without visas, so for those living in the north of the country or with the means to travel from areas farther afield, brief trips across the border have been a workaround.

Some said they funded their trips by selling goods like cigarettes and tea that are cheap in Iran and fetch a higher price in Turkey.

Sami Ranjbar from Tehran, who was crossing from Turkey back into Iran on Friday, said he works in e-commerce and had stayed in Van for four days to catch up on business.

“My work depends on the internet, so I am forced to come here to access it and do my work, and then return to Iran to see how conditions develop,” he said. “If the internet is restored, we will stay, if not, we will be forced to come out again to use the internet, and go to neighboring countries or elsewhere.”

Ali, 37, who spoke on condition of not being identified by his full name out of security concerns, was headed back to Tehran on Saturday after staying in Turkey for four days. He said he came with his brother, who needed to use the internet for university applications.

“A lot of our friends are arrested in Iran, and some of them have been killed,” he said. “But we have to go back to Iran because we have our family there and we have jobs there.”

The crackdown on protests that began Dec. 28 over Iran’s ailing economy has left at least 3,095 people dead, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

Ali said he had complicated feelings about the situation in his country, supporting neither the current authorities nor any of the alternatives on offer.

“We are under a dictatorship, but we are also in danger of war from Israel and other countries,” he said. “I’m not OK with being attacked by other countries, but I’m not OK at all with my government.”

Residents of the area of northeastern Iran near the border crossing said life returned largely to business as usual following little unrest. The area is conservative, with a large population of ethnic Turks and Azeris.

Many Iranian travelers coming from the north said they see the protests in Tehran and other areas as having little to do with them, and some echoed the Iranian government allegations that the unrest was seeded by the U.S. and Israel.

“It’s true that people are struggling financially. But that is because of the things America and Israel are doing,” said Milad Soleimani, 28, who came from the Iranian town of Qatur, 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the border gate, for a day’s shopping, speaking in Turkish. “The majority supports their state. It doesn’t matter if you have 2 million Pahlavi supporters in a nation of 94 million.”

Iranian Turks and Azeris are largely averse to exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who has been hoping to stage a return and has urged protesters into the streets. Ethnic minorities were repressed under Pahlavi’s father, Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution that ushered in the current Islamic Republic. Many Iranians from the north said they preferred the stability under the current regime over unrest and ambiguity.

“Iran is stable, that’s what is good about it,” said Afshin, 24, a Turkish-speaking Kurdish traveler from the northeastern Iranian city of Khoy, who gave only his first name out of security concerns. “If there is a civil war, the country will split into 80 pieces.”