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Report: US Held Indirect Talks with Iran over Red Sea Attacks

In this photo provided by the Ministry of Defence, Sea Ceptor missiles are fired from HMS Richmond shooting down two Houthi drones, Saturday, March 9, 2024 in the Red Sea. (LPhot Chris Sellars/Ministry of Defence via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ministry of Defence, Sea Ceptor missiles are fired from HMS Richmond shooting down two Houthi drones, Saturday, March 9, 2024 in the Red Sea. (LPhot Chris Sellars/Ministry of Defence via AP)
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Report: US Held Indirect Talks with Iran over Red Sea Attacks

In this photo provided by the Ministry of Defence, Sea Ceptor missiles are fired from HMS Richmond shooting down two Houthi drones, Saturday, March 9, 2024 in the Red Sea. (LPhot Chris Sellars/Ministry of Defence via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ministry of Defence, Sea Ceptor missiles are fired from HMS Richmond shooting down two Houthi drones, Saturday, March 9, 2024 in the Red Sea. (LPhot Chris Sellars/Ministry of Defence via AP)

Senior US and Iranian diplomats reportedly met secretly in Oman earlier this year as Washington tried to seek Tehran’s help in stopping attacks by Yemen’s Houthis in the Red Sea,

The top Middle East official at the White House, Brett McGurk, and the State Department’s Iran envoy, Abram Paley, headed the US delegation that met with an Iranian team, which Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani led, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.

According to the newspaper, which cited unnamed US and Iranian officials, the talks were indirect, with Omani officials relaying messages between the two camps.

During the indirect talks, American officials also sounded the alarm over Iran’s expanding nuclear program.

This first round of talks was held in January, with a second scheduled for February. But those talks never materialized as McGurk is busy trying to broker a ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip in return for the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas.

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Türkiye Ups Border Security as Iran-Israel Conflict Rages

FILE PHOTO - Syrians wait at a checkpoint at the Syrian border crossing of Bab al-Hawa on the Syrian-Turkish border in Idlib Governorate January 21, 2015. REUTERS/Abed Kontar
FILE PHOTO - Syrians wait at a checkpoint at the Syrian border crossing of Bab al-Hawa on the Syrian-Turkish border in Idlib Governorate January 21, 2015. REUTERS/Abed Kontar
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Türkiye Ups Border Security as Iran-Israel Conflict Rages

FILE PHOTO - Syrians wait at a checkpoint at the Syrian border crossing of Bab al-Hawa on the Syrian-Turkish border in Idlib Governorate January 21, 2015. REUTERS/Abed Kontar
FILE PHOTO - Syrians wait at a checkpoint at the Syrian border crossing of Bab al-Hawa on the Syrian-Turkish border in Idlib Governorate January 21, 2015. REUTERS/Abed Kontar

Türkiye has stepped up security on its border with Iran since the start of Tehran's conflict with Israel, but has not yet seen any increase in people trying to cross the frontier, a Turkish Defense Ministry source said on Thursday.

Türkiye - a NATO member which shares a 560-km (350-mile) border with Iran - has condemned Israel's attacks on Iran, saying they violate international law.

It has also offered to help arrange a resumption of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States, according to Reuters.

"Intense security precautions have been taken via additional measures at all our borders including with Iran," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

There were no signs of "a mass immigration wave toward Türkiye," the source added.

Türkiye already hosts millions of refugees, most of them from another neighbour, Syria, and says it cannot take any more.

On Wednesday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel's attacks on Iran as "state terrorism" and said Türkiye would raise its own defences to such a level that "nobody will even consider" attacking it.

Türkiye has long said it is working to build up its defences, including long-range missiles - though officials and analysts say its plan for a "Steel Dome" defense system along the lines of Israel's "Iron Dome" is years away.

Barin Kayaoglu, a professor of international relations at Ankara Social Sciences University, said that while Türkiye's air defense systems could be effective if Ankara ever faced conflict scenarios like the fighting between Iran and Israel, more units were needed.

"Türkiye needs to gain range, altitude and anti-ballistic missile capabilities," he told Reuters. Any "Steel Dome" system "probably needs another five-six years", he said.