Ankara Hopes US Would Reconsider Suspension of Visa Services to Turkish Citizens

A woman waits in front of the visa application office entrance of the US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, October 9, 2017. (Reuters)
A woman waits in front of the visa application office entrance of the US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, October 9, 2017. (Reuters)
TT

Ankara Hopes US Would Reconsider Suspension of Visa Services to Turkish Citizens

A woman waits in front of the visa application office entrance of the US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, October 9, 2017. (Reuters)
A woman waits in front of the visa application office entrance of the US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, October 9, 2017. (Reuters)

Turkey hoped on Monday that Washington would go back on its decision to suspend most visa services to Turkish citizens following a spat with Ankara.

The row erupted when a Turkish employee of the US consulate in Istanbul was arrested last week.

Turkey’s Justice Minister said on Monday that the decision to proceed with the case against the detained consulate worker was one for the Turkish judiciary to take.

"Trying a Turkish citizen for a crime committed in Turkey is our right. I hope the US will revise its decision in this light," Abdulhamit Gul told A Haber television.

The American embassy in Ankara said that "recent events" forced the US government to reassess Turkey's "commitment" to the security of US mission services and personnel in the country.

In order to minimize the number of visitors while the assessment is carried out, "effective immediately we have suspended all non-immigrant visa services at all US diplomatic facilities in Turkey," it said.

Non-immigrant visas are issued to all those traveling to the United States for tourism, medical treatment, business, temporary work or study. Immigrant visa services are only for those seeking to live in the US permanently.

Ankara responded by suspending "all visa services" for Americans in the US, saying the measures also apply to visas issued online and at the border.

In an apparent attempt to mock the US announcement, the Turkish embassy in Washington issued two statements that were almost word-for-word copies of that from the American embassy in Ankara.

The statements said concerns over US commitment to the security of Turkish diplomatic facilities and personnel necessitated the restrictions, but the fact that they only apply to Americans and also include visas issued at the border and online indicate the move is punitive rather than security-based.

The first statement from the Turkish embassy said the restrictions apply to "visas in passports" while the second replaced that wording with "sticker visas". It was unclear if that meant that visas already stamped in passports would not be accepted.

Beyond its mention of "recent events", the American embassy statement made no explicit mention of the arrest by Turkish authorities of a local Turkish staffer working at the US consulate in Istanbul.

The employee, Metin Topuz, was remanded in custody by an Istanbul court late Wednesday on accusations of links to the group of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for last year's failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The staffer has been formally charged with espionage and seeking to overthrow the Turkish government. Turkey's official Anadolu news agency reported that he allegedly communicated with former police chiefs in a 2013 corruption probe, 121 people involved in the attempted coup and hundreds of people using an encrypted mobile messaging application.

The US embassy on Thursday said it was "deeply disturbed" over the arrest and rejected the allegations against the employee as "wholly without merit".

It also condemned leaks in the local press which it said came from Turkish government sources that were "seemingly aimed at trying the employee in the media rather than a court of law".

But Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin has defended the arrest, saying "there must be serious evidence" and pointing to a phone call made from the Istanbul consulate to a key suspect on the night of the coup.

Hamza Ulucay, a translator of the US Consulate in the southern province of Adana, was arrested in March for alleged links to outlawed Kurdish militants.

For Soner Cagaptay, Director of the Turkish Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in Washington DC, the situation signifies the unfolding of an historic crisis in US-Turkey relations.

"The idea is that this step would convince the Turkish elites to persuade Erdogan to stop harassing US citizens in Turkey -- I think Erdogan will do the opposite and escalate," he told AFP.

The pro-government Yeni Safak daily described it as "a scandalous decision from the United States".

Turkish officials had expressed hope of a new page in Ankara-Washington relations under President Donald Trump.

Turkey has pressed Washington for the extradition of Pennsylvania-based Gulen, who denies any link to the coup bid -- but the lack of movement on the issue has further strained ties.

More than 50,000 people have been arrested and 110,000 have been fired from government jobs as part of a state of emergency declared after the failed coup in Turkey.



Turkish FM to Attend Trump’s Board of Peace Meeting in Washington, Italy as ‘Observer’ 

28 November 2025, Berlin: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Wadephul. (dpa)
28 November 2025, Berlin: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Wadephul. (dpa)
TT

Turkish FM to Attend Trump’s Board of Peace Meeting in Washington, Italy as ‘Observer’ 

28 November 2025, Berlin: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Wadephul. (dpa)
28 November 2025, Berlin: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during a joint press conference with German Foreign Minister Wadephul. (dpa)

‌Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will travel to Washington in lieu of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the inaugural meeting of US President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" on Thursday, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

A Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters ‌that Fidan, during the ‌talks, would call ‌for ⁠determined steps to ⁠resolve the Palestinian issue and emphasize that Israel must end actions to hinder the flow of aid into Gaza and stop its ceasefire violations.

Fidan ⁠will also reiterate Türkiye's ‌readiness ‌to contribute to Gaza's reconstruction and its ‌desire to help protect Palestinians ‌and ensure their security, the source said.

He will also call for urgent action against Israel's "illegal ‌settlement activities and settler violence in the West Bank", ⁠the ⁠source added.

According to a readout from Erdogan's office, the president separately told reporters on Wednesday that he hoped the Board of Peace would help achieve "the lasting stability, ceasefire, and eventually peace that Gaza has longed for", and would focus on bringing about a two-state solution.

The board, of which Trump is the chairman, was initially designed to oversee the Gaza truce and the territory's reconstruction after the war between Hamas and Israel.

Meanwhile, Italy will be present at the meeting as an "observer", Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Wednesday.

"I will go to Washington to represent Italy as an observer to this first meeting of the Board of Peace, to be present when talks occur and decisions are made for the reconstruction of Gaza and the future of Palestine," Tajani said according to ANSA news agency.

Italy cannot be present as anything more than an observer as the country's constitutional rules do not allow it to join an organization led by a single foreign leader.

But Tajani said it was key for Rome to be "at the forefront, listening to what is being done".

Since Trump launched the Board of Peace at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, at least 19 countries have signed its founding charter.


Energy Secretary: US to Stop Iran's Nuclear Ambitions 'One Way or the Other'

US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright speaks during a press conference after a meeting with Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on February 11, 2026. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP)
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright speaks during a press conference after a meeting with Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on February 11, 2026. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP)
TT

Energy Secretary: US to Stop Iran's Nuclear Ambitions 'One Way or the Other'

US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright speaks during a press conference after a meeting with Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on February 11, 2026. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP)
US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright speaks during a press conference after a meeting with Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on February 11, 2026. (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP)

The United States will deter Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons "one way or the other", US Energy Secretary Chris Wright warned on Wednesday.

"They've been very clear about what they would do with nuclear weapons. It's entirely unacceptable," Wright told reporters in Paris on the sidelines of meetings of the International Energy Agency.

"So one way or the other, we are going to end, deter Iran's march towards a nuclear weapon," Wright said.

US and Iranian officials held talks in Geneva on Tuesday aimed at averting the possibility of US military intervention to curb Tehran's nuclear program.

Iran said following the talks that they had agreed on "guiding principles" for a deal to avoid conflict.

US Vice President JD Vance, however, said Tehran had not yet acknowledged all of Washington's red lines.


Iran, Russia to Conduct Joint Drills in the Sea of Oman 

This handout photo released by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows boats maneuvering around a tanker vessel during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz. (Sepahnews / AFP)
This handout photo released by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows boats maneuvering around a tanker vessel during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz. (Sepahnews / AFP)
TT

Iran, Russia to Conduct Joint Drills in the Sea of Oman 

This handout photo released by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows boats maneuvering around a tanker vessel during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz. (Sepahnews / AFP)
This handout photo released by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)'s official website Sepanews on February 17, 2026, shows boats maneuvering around a tanker vessel during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and navy in the Strait of Hormuz. (Sepahnews / AFP)

Iran and Russia will conduct naval maneuvers in the Sea of Oman on Thursday, following the latest round of talks between Tehran and Washington in Geneva, Iranian media reported.

On Monday, the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of Iran's military, also launched exercises in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a challenge to US naval forces deployed in the region.

"The joint naval exercise of Iran and Russia will take place tomorrow (Thursday) in the Sea of Oman and in the northern Indian Ocean," the ISNA agency reported, citing drill spokesman, Rear Admiral Hassan Maghsoudloo.

"The aim is to strengthen maritime security and to deepen relations between the navies of the two countries," he said, without specifying the duration of the drill.

The war games come as Iran struck an upbeat tone following the second round of Oman-mediated negotiations in Geneva on Tuesday.

Previous talks between the two foes collapsed following the unprecedented Israeli strike on Iran in June 2025, which sparked a 12-day war that the United States briefly joined.

US President Donald Trump has deployed a significant naval force in the region, which he has described as an "armada."

Iranian officials have repeatedly threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, particularly during periods of tension with the United States, but it has never been closed.

A key passageway for global shipments of oil and liquefied natural gas, the Strait of Hormuz has been the scene of several incidents in the past and has returned to the spotlight as pressure has ratcheted amid the US-Iran talks.

Iran announced on Tuesday that it would partially close it for a few hours for "security" reasons during its own drills in the strait.