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Zarif Tries to Defuse Tensions with Ankara

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a press conference in Tehran, June 10, 2019. AP
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a press conference in Tehran, June 10, 2019. AP
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Zarif Tries to Defuse Tensions with Ankara

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a press conference in Tehran, June 10, 2019. AP
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during a press conference in Tehran, June 10, 2019. AP

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met Turkish officials in Istanbul on Friday as the two regional powers tried to move past tensions sparked by the deaths of Turkish captives in Iraq.

Zarif and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed Syria and the ongoing Afghan peace talks as well as trade and the fight against terror, the two counties' foreign ministries said in separate statements.

Turkey's spy chief Hakan Fidan also attended the meeting.

Turkey and Iran, at odds over regional issues including Syria, became entangled in a diplomatic spat in February over Ankara's military operations against Kurdish militants in Iraq.

Turkey accused Kurdish militants of killing 12 Turks and an Iraqi they were holding hostage in northern Iraq.

The Kurdish militants said the 13 were killed by Turkish bombs during a failed rescue operation launched by Ankara.

The incident prompted Iran's envoy to Baghdad, Iraj Masjedi, to warn that Turkish forces should not "pose a threat or violate Iraqi soil," where Iran's influence is strong.

The incident prompted Turkey and Iran to each summon the other's ambassador.

Both Ankara and Tehran have carried out operations against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, and are vying for influence in the war-torn country.

Militants from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), who have fought an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, are blacklisted as a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies.

Zarif last visited Istanbul on January 29, when Turkey urged the United States to return to the 2015 nuclear agreement that saw Washington lift some sanctions on Tehran in exchange for Iran limiting its ambitions to develop a bomb.

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Israel Rattled by Talk That Netanyahu May Replace Defense Minister

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. (Reuters)
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Israel Rattled by Talk That Netanyahu May Replace Defense Minister

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a press conference in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. (Reuters)

Reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was considering firing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant shook the political landscape and sent Israeli financial markets lower on Monday.

Israel's leading television channels and news websites reported that Netanyahu, under pressure from far-right coalition partners, was contemplating firing Gallant and replacing him with a former ally turned rival, Gideon Saar, who is currently a member of the opposition.

Such a move would be a major shock to the political and security landscape, especially with the looming threat of all-out war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The shekel weakened 1% to nearly 3.75 versus the dollar, while main Tel Aviv share indices were down 1.4% to 1.6%.

The Israeli currency was expected to appreciate after data on Sunday showed Israel's inflation rate rose more than expected to 3.6% in August, a jump analysts said would delay rate cuts well into 2025 in contrast to expected rate cuts in the United States and Europe.

Netanyahu denied that he was in negotiations with Saar, though he did not refer to his plans for Gallant. Saar denied that he was negotiating with some members of the coalition.

NETANYAHU AND GALLANT AT ODDS

It would not be the first time Netanyahu has tried to fire Gallant. The two have been at odds over a number of government policies and, more recently, the handling of the war in Gaza and the terms of a possible hostage release and ceasefire deal with the Hamas movement.

Centrist lawmakers criticized Netanyahu for getting sidetracked by political wrangling rather than focusing on the task at hand.

"Instead of the prime minister being busy with victory over Hamas, returning the hostages, with the war against Hezbollah and allowing (evacuated) residents of the north to return to their homes, he is busy with despicable political dealings and replacing the defense minister," centrist lawmaker Benny Gantz wrote on social media.

Police minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who heads an ultranationalist party in Netanyahu's coalition, has for months been advocating to replace Gallant and called for his immediate dismissal.

"We must resolve the situation in the north and Gallant is not the right man to lead this," Ben-Gvir said referring to a possible escalation with Hezbollah.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have been displaced near the Lebanese border in the north due to daily rocket fire from Hezbollah.

Gallant, who rose to the rank of general during a 35-year military career, on Sunday told US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin he was committed to returning residents back to their homes and that the "possibility for an agreed framework is running out."

On Monday, he said the only way to return residents evacuated from the north to their homes was with military action.

In March 2023, Netanyahu fired Gallant after he broke ranks with the government and urged a halt to a highly contested plan to overhaul the judicial system. That triggered mass protests and Netanyahu backtracked.