Blinken Meets Turkey’s Erdogan as Middle East Tensions Rise

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Turkish leaders at the start of a diplomatic tour aimed at avoiding a broader war in the Middle East and rallying Arab support for Gaza’s post-conflict governance. 

Blinken met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul for more than an hour on Saturday after speaking with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. 

Reaching out to Turkey

With Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip about to enter its fourth month، the US is reaching out to Turkey to use its regional influence، including with Iran، to reduce the risk of a broader conflict. Washington wants to enlist Ankara’s support for plans on how to govern Gaza after the war ends، a senior US official told reporters traveling with Blinken.  

“It’s clear that Turkey’s prepared to play a positive، productive role in the work that needs to happen the day after the conflict ends، and as well، more broadly، on trying to find a path to sustainable peace and security،” Blinken told reporters in Chania، a city on the Greek island of Crete، where he met Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis before departing for Amman، Jordan.

Blinken’s schedule involves crisscrossing the Middle East over several days with further stops in Saudi Arabia، the United Arab Emirates، Qatar، Egypt، Israel and the West Bank. Separately، the European Union’s top foreign policy official was in Lebanon warning against a widened conflict. 

Preventing the conflict from spreading

“We have an intense focus on preventing this conflict from spreading،” Blinken said. “And a big part of the conversations we’ll be having over the coming days with all of our allies and partners is looking at the steps that they can take، using the influence and ties that they have، to do just that — to make sure this conflict doesn’t spread.”

Blinken and Fidan discussed Sweden’s North Atlantic Treaty Organization accession process and the humanitarian situation in Gaza، the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on X، formerly Twitter.

Blinken is making his fourth trip to the region since war erupted between Israel and Hamas after the Oct. 7 attacks that killed 1،200 Israelis. More than 22،000 people in Gaza have died، according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

On Saturday، Israeli fighter jets struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon after the militant group fired dozens of rockets into Israel. Hezbollah’s rocket volley came after Hamas blamed Israel for a drone strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut that killed a senior Hamas official this week. 

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels said they’ll continue attacks on Red Sea commercial shipping that are disrupting global supply chains. 

“Any ship connected to the Zionist state will never pass the Red Sea regardless of the consequence and this decision will continue whatever the price،” Mahdi Al-Mashat، head of the Houthi political council and commander of the group’s armed forces، said in a televised speech Saturday. 

Growing concern 

European diplomats also expressed growing concern. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on X she called her called her Iranian counterpart، Hossein Amir-Abdollahian، to tell him that “Iran and its cronies must immediately stop their destabilizing actions.”

Josep Borrell، the EU’s foreign policy representative، said in Beirut it’s “imperative” to keep hostilities from escalating. 

“I am sending this message to Israel too: nobody will win from a regional conflict،” Agence France-Presse quoted Borrell as telling reporters. 

Blinken said US goals include maximizing the protection of civilians and the flow of humanitarian assistance reaching them. 

“The situation for men، women and children in Gaza remains dire،” he said. “Far too many Palestinians have been killed — especially children.”

Increase in the assistence

“It’s imperative that we see substantial and sustained increase in the assistance that’s getting to them، as well as the protection of civilians in general،” he said.

Two blasts in Iran this week that killed almost 100 people — the deadliest attacks since the 1979 founding of the Islamic Republic — have also put the region on edge. Islamic State claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack.

The US has already struck targets in Iraq in response to attacks by Iran-backed militias on US armed forces in the country. A US-led coalition has also warned Houthi militants in Yemen of unspecified “consequences” should attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea continue، raising the possibility of further Western strikes in the region.  

Blinken will deliver a message across the region that the Biden administration isn’t interested in escalating the conflict but will respond the attacks on its personnel and interests، the US official said، adding that Washington expects Arab partners to convey that message onto Iran.