Türkiye Says Making ‘Intense’ Efforts to End Middle East War

03 March 2026, Türkiye, Ankara: Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the lottery ceremony for a social housing project in Ankara. (Turkish Presidency/dpa)
03 March 2026, Türkiye, Ankara: Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the lottery ceremony for a social housing project in Ankara. (Turkish Presidency/dpa)
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Türkiye Says Making ‘Intense’ Efforts to End Middle East War

03 March 2026, Türkiye, Ankara: Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the lottery ceremony for a social housing project in Ankara. (Turkish Presidency/dpa)
03 March 2026, Türkiye, Ankara: Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the lottery ceremony for a social housing project in Ankara. (Turkish Presidency/dpa)

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday Türkiye was making "intense" diplomatic efforts to end the conflict roiling the Middle East, sparked by the Israeli-US strikes on Iran. 

"Attacks on Iran, and missile and kamikaze drone attacks (by Iran) on neighboring countries in the Gulf have fueled instability," he said in a televised address. 

"Through peace-oriented diplomacy, we are making intense efforts to resolve issues at the negotiating table," he added. 

Earlier, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met Washington's Syria envoy Tom Barrack, ministry sources said. 

He also spoke with his UK counterpart Yvette Cooper to discuss "the current security environment in the region", evaluating "in detail" the "diplomatic efforts that could be undertaken to end the hostilities and establish stability". 

He also discussed regional developments with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, with his Greek counterpart Giorgos Gerapetritis and with Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region. Fidan said Ankara was also in talks with Oman. 

The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. The war quickly widened with Tehran striking Gulf states that host US bases and Israel attacking Iranian-backed Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.  

Türkiye, a NATO member and neighbor of Iran, had for weeks urged Washington and Tehran to reach an agreement during ‌their rounds of negotiations ‌over Iran's nuclear program and missile capabilities, warning ‌that ⁠the region could ⁠not handle any more destabilization.  

Fidan told members of Turkish media during a Ramadan fast-breaking dinner on Tuesday that Türkiye was "sensitively carrying out necessary initiatives with all our counterparts" to achieve peace in the region, and added it was critical to preserve the stability of Iran and the region.  

"There isn't a single-layered negotiation, there is a multi-layered negotiation," Fidan ⁠said, according to a transcript of his comments shared ‌on Tuesday.  

"We have been talking ‌to the Europeans for a few days... If you want peace, let's work ‌together. We are urging them to take action. The Gulf ‌nations are now facing a serious situation," he said.  

"We are talking to the Omani (foreign minister). Oman is also still trying to do something there. We are talking to the Americans," he said. 

Fidan warned ⁠against the ⁠conflict engulfing the whole region and affecting energy supplies. He added that the closure of the Hormuz Strait, where one-fifth of global oil trade skirts Iran's coast, could "push the United States to obtain a quick result".  

He said Iran was trying to "create costs" for the US and its partners by attacking Gulf states and energy infrastructure, but added that he didn't believe Tehran could obtain the desired result that way.  

"By bombing these places, Iran will say they should pressure the United States and end the war, but that doesn't seem like it will happen. I don't know how much Iran has left," he said, adding that Tehran could instead "bother" Israel with missile strikes. 



Iran, US Race to Find Crew Member of Crashed American Fighter Jet

A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026.  US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS
A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026. US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS
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Iran, US Race to Find Crew Member of Crashed American Fighter Jet

A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026.  US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS
A US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels from a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission supporting Operation Epic Fury during the Iran war at an undisclosed location, April 2, 2026. US Air Force/Handout via REUTERS

Iranian and American forces raced each other Saturday to recover a crew member from the first US fighter jet to go down inside Iran since the start of the war.

Tehran said it had shot down the F-15 warplane and US media reported United States special forces had rescued one of its two crew members, with the other was still missing.

Iran's military also said it downed a US A-10 ground attack aircraft in the Gulf, with US media saying the pilot of that plane was rescued, reported AFP.

The war erupted more than a month ago with US-Israeli strikes on Iran that killed supreme leader Ali Khamenei, triggering retaliation that spread the conflict throughout the Middle East, convulsing the global economy and impacting millions of people worldwide.

US Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the loss of the F-15, but White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: "The president has been briefed."

President Donald Trump told NBC the F-15 loss would not affect negotiations with Iran, saying: "No, not at all. No, it's war."

On Saturday, there were fresh strikes on Israel, Lebanon and Iran, as well as on Gulf states.

An AFP journalist saw a thick haze of grey smoke covering Tehran's skyline after hearing several blasts over the capital. It was not immediately clear what had been targeted.

- 'Valuable reward' -

A spokesperson for the Iranian military's central operational command earlier said "an American hostile fighter jet in central Iranian airspace was struck and destroyed by the IRGC Aerospace Force's advanced air defense system".

"The jet was completely obliterated, and further searches are ongoing."

An Iranian television reporter on a local official channel said anyone who captured a crew member alive would "receive a valuable reward".

Retired US brigadier general Houston Cantwell, who has 400 hours of combat flight experience, said a pilot's training would likely kick in before he or she parachutes to the ground.

"My priority would be, first of all, concealment, because I don't want to be captured," he told AFP.

Mohammad Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, mocked the Trump administration.

He wrote on X: "After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from 'regime change' to 'Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?'

"Wow. What incredible progress. Absolute geniuses."


Explosion Hits Pro-Israel Center in the Netherlands

Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Explosion Hits Pro-Israel Center in the Netherlands

Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)
Rotterdam Police officers. (Getty Images/AFP)

A blast hit a pro-Israeli center in the Netherlands, police said Saturday, adding it caused minimal damage and no injuries.

A police spokeswoman told AFP no one was inside the site run by Christians for Israel, a non-profit, in the central city of Nijkerk when the explosion went off outside its gate late on Friday.

An investigation was ongoing.

The incident comes after a string of similar night-time attacks on Jewish sites in the Netherlands and neighboring Belgium in recent weeks that has heightened concerns in the wake of the war in the Middle East.


Iran Says Strike Hit Close to Its Bushehr Nuclear Facility, Killing a Guard and Damaging a Building

Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)
Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)
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Iran Says Strike Hit Close to Its Bushehr Nuclear Facility, Killing a Guard and Damaging a Building

Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)
Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor (Reuters)

Iran’s atomic agency says an airstrike has hit near its Bushehr nuclear facility, killing a security guard and damaging a support building. It is the fourth time the facility has been targeted during the war.

The agency announced Saturday’s attack on social media.

The US AP’s military pressed ahead Saturday in a frantic search for a missing pilot after Iran shot down an American warplane, as Iran called on people to turn the pilot in, promising a reward.

The plane, identified by Iran as a US F-15E Strike Eagle, was one of two attacked on Friday, with one service member rescued and at least one missing. It was the first time the United States lost aircraft in Iranian territory during the war, now in its sixth week, and could mark a new turning point in the campaign.

The conflict, launched by the US and Israel on Feb. 28, has rippled across the region. It has so far killed thousands, upended global markets, cut off key shipping routes, spiked fuel prices and shows no signs of slowing as Iran responds to US and Israeli airstrikes with attacks across the region.