Türkiye, Israel to Set up Committee to 'Prevent Deterioration of Ties'

Israeli ambassador to Ankara Irit Lillian. (Israeli foreign ministry)
Israeli ambassador to Ankara Irit Lillian. (Israeli foreign ministry)
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Türkiye, Israel to Set up Committee to 'Prevent Deterioration of Ties'

Israeli ambassador to Ankara Irit Lillian. (Israeli foreign ministry)
Israeli ambassador to Ankara Irit Lillian. (Israeli foreign ministry)

Israeli ambassador to Ankara Irit Lillian revealed that Israel and Türkiye are working on forming a high-level committee to address differences and prevent the deterioration of relations.

She said Israel is still keen on the Hamas movement shutting its efforts in Türkiye.

Ankara insists that the movement enjoys legitimacy that it won in elections and is entitled to have a representing office in the Turkish capital.

Lillian revealed, however, that the Turkish government has been receptive to Israel's request to reduce Hamas' presence.

The ambassador was referring to Türkiye’s decision to prevent Hamas politburo member Saleh al-Arouri from operating in the country, forcing him to settle in Qatar and Lebanon.

In a radio interview, Lillian spoke Monday after the Israeli government officially appointed her as ambassador to Türkiye.

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid said the move is another crucial step in repairing relations with Türkiye, noting that he met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan 0n the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week.

Lillian, 60, began her diplomatic career in 1989 after completing her military service as a producer and editor at the Israel Army Radio.

She earned a Bachelor's degree in Archaeology and Egyptology from Tel Aviv University and a Master's degree in Eastern and Western Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

She served for the past two years as Chargé d'Affaires at the Israeli Embassy in Ankara. Before then, she was the Israeli ambassador to Bulgaria from 2015 until 2019.

She was urgently appointed head of the diplomatic mission in Ankara 18 months ago and was tasked with improving relations and pushing for reconciliation.

She maintained close relations with Erdogan's office, mainly his advisor, Ibrahim Kalin, "the architect of reconciliation with Israel."

In her radio interviews, Lillian confirmed that the political leaderships in the two countries had reached the conviction that tensions between them are not beneficial, noting that Türkiye and Israel are united by the historic relations between the Ottoman Empire and the Jews.

The ambassador said Erdogan has demonstrated that he is methodical and pragmatic and made it clear that he sees his country's interest in improving bilateral relations.

She explained that Israel and Türkiye are both realistic and realize they can disagree in the future, but agreed to find a framework to contain differences and prevent them from becoming crises.

On the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, she said Tel Aviv and Ankara “agree to disagree” on the issue.



IAEA Pulls Inspectors from Iran as Standoff over Access Drags on

FILE PHOTO: nternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi waits for an emergency meeting of the agency’s Board of Governors to discuss the situation in Iran following the US attacks on the country’s nuclear facilities, at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: nternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi waits for an emergency meeting of the agency’s Board of Governors to discuss the situation in Iran following the US attacks on the country’s nuclear facilities, at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl/File Photo
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IAEA Pulls Inspectors from Iran as Standoff over Access Drags on

FILE PHOTO: nternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi waits for an emergency meeting of the agency’s Board of Governors to discuss the situation in Iran following the US attacks on the country’s nuclear facilities, at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: nternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi waits for an emergency meeting of the agency’s Board of Governors to discuss the situation in Iran following the US attacks on the country’s nuclear facilities, at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 23, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl/File Photo

The UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday it had pulled its last remaining inspectors from Iran as a standoff over their return to the country's nuclear facilities bombed by the United States and Israel deepens.

Israel launched its first military strikes on Iran's nuclear sites in a 12-day war three weeks ago. The International Atomic Energy Agency's inspectors have not been able to inspect Iran's facilities since then, even though IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said that is his top priority.

Iran's parliament has now passed a law to suspend cooperation with the IAEA until the safety of its nuclear facilities can be guaranteed. While the IAEA says Iran has not yet formally informed it of any suspension, it is unclear when the agency's inspectors will be able to return to Iran.

"An IAEA team of inspectors today safely departed from Iran to return to the Agency headquarters in Vienna, after staying in Tehran throughout the recent military conflict," the IAEA said on X.

According to Reuters, diplomats said the number of IAEA inspectors in Iran was reduced to a handful after the June 13 start of the war. Some have also expressed concern about the inspectors' safety since the end of the conflict, given fierce criticism of the agency by Iranian officials and Iranian media.

Iran has accused the agency of effectively paving the way for the bombings by issuing a damning report on May 31 that led to a resolution by the IAEA's 35-nation Board of Governors declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said he stands by the report. He has denied it provided diplomatic cover for military action.

IAEA WANTS TALKS

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday Iran remained committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

"(Grossi) reiterated the crucial importance of the IAEA discussing with Iran modalities for resuming its indispensable monitoring and verification activities in Iran as soon as possible," the IAEA said.

The US and Israeli military strikes either destroyed or badly damaged Iran's three uranium enrichment sites. But it was less clear what has happened to much of Iran's nine tons of enriched uranium, especially the more than 400 kg enriched to up to 60% purity, a short step from weapons grade.

That is enough, if enriched further, for nine nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick. Iran says its aims are entirely peaceful but Western powers say there is no civil justification for enriching to such a high level, and the IAEA says no country has done so without developing the atom bomb.

As a party to the NPT, Iran must account for its enriched uranium, which normally is closely monitored by the IAEA, the body that enforces the NPT and verifies countries' declarations. But the bombing of Iran's facilities has now muddied the waters.

"We cannot afford that .... the inspection regime is interrupted," Grossi told a press conference in Vienna last week.