Turkey: More than 250 Detained over Alleged Terror Links

Turkish policemen in Istanbul. Reuters file photo
Turkish policemen in Istanbul. Reuters file photo
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Turkey: More than 250 Detained over Alleged Terror Links

Turkish policemen in Istanbul. Reuters file photo
Turkish policemen in Istanbul. Reuters file photo

Turkish authorities have detained 267 suspects, 161 of them foreign nationals, for their alleged links to terrorist organizations, state news agency Anadolu reported on Saturday.

Police believe the suspected extremists had been plotting attacks for New Year's Eve, the report said without elaborating.

The suspects were detained during raids in 33 cities and provinces between December 20 and 31, Anadolu said, citing a statement from the Interior Ministry.

The nationalities of the foreign detainees have not been made public.

Separately, Turkey's immigration authority was holding 69 foreign nationals over their "links to conflict zones," the report added, according to the German Press Agency.

Police are said to have seized pistols, explosive materials and digital documents linked to terrorist groups in raids against those 69 people.



Iran Denies Any Meeting with US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says

 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 23, 2025. (Sputnik/Sergei Karpukhin/Pool via Reuters)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 23, 2025. (Sputnik/Sergei Karpukhin/Pool via Reuters)
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Iran Denies Any Meeting with US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says

 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 23, 2025. (Sputnik/Sergei Karpukhin/Pool via Reuters)
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia June 23, 2025. (Sputnik/Sergei Karpukhin/Pool via Reuters)

Iran currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV, contradicting US President Donald Trump's statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.

The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the US attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The US and Israel said the strikes were meant to curb Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons, while Iran says its nuclear program is solely geared toward civilian use.

Araqchi said the damages to nuclear sites “were not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear program, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.