People gather after US President Donald Trump said that he had agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday. [Majid Asgaripour/WANA/Reutesr]
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told US President Donald Trump that the ceasefire with Iran offered an important opportunity to advance toward a permanent peace agreement, his country’s communications directorate said.
The two presidents spoke over the phone to review the latest situation in the region, with a focus on the ceasefire declared Tuesday night, according to a statement shared on Turkish social media platform NSosyal.
Erdogan stressed the need to make effective use of two-week ceasefire and warned against any actions that could undermine the process.
The Turkish president also underlined that Turkey would continue to increase its support for diplomatic efforts carried out with friendly and brotherly countries, particularly Pakistan, aimed at achieving a resolution.
Earlier, Turkish media, citing security sources, reported that Turkey’s intelligence agency played a key role in diplomatic efforts leading to the two-week ceasefire.
State news channel TRT said Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) was among the few actors able to maintain direct contact with both Western countries and neighboring Iran, including its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
It said MIT had worked to keep communication channels open, prevent misunderstandings, relay messages aimed at de-escalation, presented proposals to help avoid further escalation and coordinated with multiple intelligence services.
MIT was not immediately reachable for comment on the report.
While Pakistan led mediation efforts, Tehran has said that Turkey had played a role after having initially sought to host direct US-Iran talks before the war began in late February. A Turkey-based diplomat separately said Ankara played a supportive role in the recent weeks of talks. [Anadolu/Reuters]