Politics
Iranians seek temporary refuge in neighboring Türkiye
Escalating conflict between Israel and Iran raises concerns for Türkiye, the northwestern neighbor of the latter. Another angle of the tensions is the potential flow of refugees from there.
After crossing into Türkiye from Iran on Monday, Shirin Talebi was anxiously waiting for her children and grandchildren to arrive from Tehran at the same border point. The family are planning to stay for a month or two in Türkiye, seeking temporary refuge from the escalating conflict.
Observers in Türkiye say the arrivals have increased since Israel on Friday launched strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program and military officials. However, Turkish officials dismiss social media reports of a large-scale influx of refugees.
Türkiye, which shares a 569-kilometer-long (348-mile-long) border with Iran, has expressed deep concern over the escalating Iran-Israel exchanges. There are fears in Türkiye that a prolonged conflict could threaten Türkiye’s own security, cause energy disruptions and lead to refugee flows.
“I’m here because of safety. They are bombing. My children have small children of their own,” said Talebi, speaking at the Gürbulak-Bazargan crossing after arriving from the Iranian city of Urmia.
“Hopefully, it is over in one or two months so we can return to our country,” she said.
Iran has retaliated to Israel’s barrages by firing waves of ballistic missiles at Israel and the conflict is now in its fourth day.
In telephone calls with U.S. President Donald Trump and Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has offered to act as a “facilitator” toward ending the conflict and resuming U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations, which were called off on Sunday.
In a televised address following a Cabinet meeting on Monday, Erdoğan warned Israel that it was putting its own future at risk with its military actions. Iran’s nuclear program should be dealt with through negotiations, he said.
“We have argued from the very beginning” for negotiations, Erdoğan said. “Today, we are at the same point.”
He also slammed the West and Israeli actions in Gaza.
“Israel, which attacks Iran with the unlimited support from the West, destroys Gaza, and bullies every country in the region, is not aware of what it is doing,” Erdoğan said. “Perhaps it will realize its mistake in the future, but we are afraid that by then it will be too late.”
Türkiye has not provided any official figures for arrivals from Iran, with the Turkish Presidency’s Directorate of Communications saying “there is no unusual movement, congestion or irregular crossings.”
The country allows Iranians to enter the country without a visa for tourism purposes and stay for up to 90 days.
At Gürbulak, one of the busiest crossings between Türkiye and Iran, bus driver Ferit Aktaş had just brought a group of Iranians from Istanbul and was waiting to pick up others. He said 10 days ago, three to five Iranians would arrive for shopping or tourism.
Now, “there are at least 30 Iranians in my vehicle per day,” he said. “They say, ‘We are not safe there and we are forced to come.’ Most of them want to go to Europe, they want to go to Europe through Türkiye.”
Mejid Dehimi, also from Urmia, arrived for a weeklong break Monday, not to escape the conflict, he said and expressed support for Iranian leaders.
“We are not afraid of death,” he said. “We will stand against Israel until our last breath and for as long as our lives allow.”
Turkish activists detained during an Israeli interception of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla are expected to return to Istanbul on Friday, organizers said.
According to a statement by the Global Sumud Flotilla, around 20 Turkish participants are due to arrive at Istanbul Airport between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. local time after being transferred to Greece.
“Following the attack on the flotilla, 175 activists were taken to the Greek island of Crete for repatriation,” the group said, adding that Turkish citizens were among those being returned.
The flotilla, part of a broader international effort to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, included 345 participants from 39 countries, according to organizers. The mission initially departed from Barcelona on April 12, with additional participants joining from Sicily before setting sail again on April 26.
On Thursday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said 175 activists had been detained after more than 20 vessels were seized in international waters while en route to the Gaza Strip.
Organizers on Friday called on governments to pressure Israel to release the two activists remaining in custody.
The mission marks the second initiative by the Global Sumud Flotilla, following a previous attempt in September 2025 that ended with an Israeli interception in international waters and the detention of hundreds of international activists.
In October 2023, Israel launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and destroyed about 90% of the enclave’s infrastructure, with reconstruction costs estimated by the United Nations at around $70 billion.
Israel has imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip since 2007, leaving about 1.5 million Palestinians out of roughly 2.4 million homeless after their homes were destroyed during the war.
A group of activists detained after an Israeli military interception of the Gaza-bound Sumud aid flotilla in international waters arrived in Istanbul late Friday aboard a special flight, Turkish authorities said.
The plane, operated by Turkish Airlines, carried 59 people, including 18 Turkish nationals, from the Greek island of Crete to Istanbul Airport, where it landed at 9:45 p.m. local time.
The activists, who were part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, were welcomed by relatives and officials at the airport’s VIP terminal. They are expected to undergo medical examinations at the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute as part of an investigation launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into Israel’s crimes.
The flotilla had set sail in April from Barcelona with the aim of breaking Israel’s blockade on Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid. After additional participants joined in Sicily, the group resumed its journey on April 26.
According to flotilla organizers, Israeli forces intercepted the vessels late on April 29 in international waters off the coast of Crete, damaging boats and detaining activists. The group said the fleet was targeted about 600 nautical miles from Gaza, just outside Greek territorial waters.
Organizers said the flotilla included 345 participants from 39 countries, including Turkish citizens.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a phone call with Greek Foreign Minister Yorgo Gerapetritis on Thursday to discuss Israel’s attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla, Turkish diplomatic sources said.
Fidan and Gerapetritis spoke by phone earlier in the day, focusing on the reported Israeli attack targeting the Global Sumud Flotilla, a Gaza-bound aid mission, according to sources from Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry.
The two ministers exchanged views on the developments and their regional implications, particularly in light of rising tensions linked to Gaza.
No further details were immediately provided regarding the content of the discussions or any potential follow-up steps.
The call comes amid growing international reactions to the incident, which has drawn criticism and renewed attention to humanitarian access to Gaza.
Amid a debate over the future of NATO, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says there is a historic opportunity to confirm it, namely the alliance’s summit in the Turkish capital Ankara in July.
Addressing a conference at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna on Wednesday, Fidan said Türkiye’s strategic necessity was maintaining trans-Atlantic ties. “A more capable and more European NATO will be at the center of the debate at the summit,” he said.
After NATO allies refused to give him the support he was demanding in the Iran war, which he had begun without consulting or informing them, U.S. President Donald Trump openly questioned whether the U.S. should stand by NATO’s mutual defense pact and said he was considering leaving the alliance. Months earlier, he had laid claim to Greenland, an autonomous territory belonging to fellow NATO member Denmark. Trump will likely skip the summit while Europe looks to bolster its defenses with more multilateral partnerships outside and inside NATO.
Fidan said a new security architecture that will be established after the Russia-Ukraine conflict will demonstrate whether Europe will be safe as a whole, noting that the post-World War II security architecture has been under great pressure. He noted that Türkiye has been a NATO ally for more than seven decades, and it was Türkiye’s strategic necessity to sustain the ties.
He added that Europe was “bigger than the EU” and its security and defense initiatives should be coordinated carefully with NATO and non-EU partners. “On the other hand, we witness a contradicting weaponization of the EU’s joint security and foreign policy,” he complained.
A key partner of NATO, Türkiye will host the leaders’ summit of the alliance for the second time in more than two decades. Heads of state and top figures from member countries will attend the summit scheduled to be held on July 7-8. Some 6,000 participants are expected to participate in the event. Türkiye this year marks the 74th anniversary of its admission to NATO and boasts the second biggest army of the alliance. It is the only country in NATO’s “southern flank” with a sizeable military power and a gateway to the Middle East and wider Asia. Security of the Black Sea also largely depends on Türkiye, especially amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which threatens maritime security.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli in Ankara on Thursday, with talks focusing on Türkiye’s “terror-free” initiative and rising regional tensions linked to Iran.
Erdoğan hosted Bahçeli at the Presidential Complex in Beştepe for a meeting that lasted approximately 50 minutes, according to official sources.
The leaders discussed steps to advance Türkiye’s “terror-free” initiative, including potential legislative measures expected to be brought before Parliament. The talks covered efforts aimed at strengthening national security and eliminating terrorist threats.
Regional developments also featured prominently on the agenda, particularly escalating tensions in the Middle East and risks related to a possible Iran-linked conflict. Erdoğan and Bahçeli assessed the potential impact of regional instability on Türkiye’s border security and reviewed possible national measures to address emerging threats.
The meeting underscored continued coordination within the People’s Alliance on both domestic and foreign policy issues.
A parliamentary commission established after deadly school attacks in southeastern Türkiye will examine the incidents from a broad perspective, including security, education, family life, social media and the wider social environment, its chairperson said.
Yusuf Beyazıt, head of the Parliamentary Investigation Commission on the Causes of School Attacks and a ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) lawmaker from Tokat, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the panel aims to identify the underlying causes of the attacks and propose measures to prevent similar incidents.
“We will make efforts to reach a conclusion by also following studies around the world,” Beyazıt said. “Our road map includes visiting Şanlıurfa and Kahramanmaraş to assess the incidents on-site.”
The commission was formed in parliament following attacks on schools in Kahramanmaraş and Şanlıurfa. Beyazıt offered condolences to the families of those killed and wished a speedy recovery to the injured, saying the country had experienced deep sorrow.
He said all political parties supported the establishment of the parliamentary inquiry commission, which consists of 22 members. The commission held its first meeting and formed its administrative board.
Beyazıt said the incidents should not be assessed from a single angle, stressing that schools, families, social surroundings, children’s psychology, security measures and the influence of digital platforms all need to be considered together.
“When we focus only on one part and say ‘security,’ ‘education’ or ‘children,’ we may overlook the family, the environment, the school, society and the effects of social media on children,” he said. “We want to look at this issue holistically.”
He said the commission would not merely examine the consequences of the attacks, but also work to identify the factors that led to them.
The panel includes lawmakers with backgrounds in medicine, education and law, Beyazıt said, adding that the commission would gather information from relevant public institutions, civil society groups and experts.
“We will examine whatever factors may help prevent similar incidents,” he noted. “If legislative work is needed, we will make recommendations. We will also share various proposals with the relevant institutions and organizations.”
Beyazıt also underlined that the commission would also review the effects of social media, television and external influences on children, as well as teacher-student relations and communication between families and children.
He said the commission’s working schedule would be determined next week, including which experts and institutions would be invited to provide input.
“No one wants such incidents to happen again,” Beyazıt added. “The fire did not burn only where it fell. It burned all of Türkiye. It affected all of us deeply.”
Beyazıt said he plans to visit the graves of the children who lost their lives, along with members of the commission, before meeting with the families and injured students.
“These children went to school with cheerful feelings, only to receive an education,” he noted. “No one expected such pain that day. This is a very important issue, and it should not be viewed through a political lens.”
He stressed that children should be protected from harmful external influences and encouraged to take part in sports, arts and other constructive activities.
After completing its work, the commission will prepare a report and submit recommendations, including possible legislative proposals, Beyazıt said.
Recent school attacks in Kahramanmaraş and Şanlıurfa have accelerated work on a new social media regulation package, intensifying political momentum around digital child safety.
The measures have been on the agenda of lawmakers for some time now, but two school shootings earlier this month appear to be fast-tracking their passing. The second school shooting in the province of Kahramanmaraş by a 14-year-old boy sparked debate about social media. In the aftermath of the attack that killed 10 people, a barrage of online threats against schools was uncovered, and security forces found out that those behind the threats were mostly underage.
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