Iran in panic from US military siege, seeks value from Turkey

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Arghchi will travel to Ankara for talks aimed at preventing an American attack, while Turkish diplomats seek to convince Tehran that he must offer concessions on his nuclear programme if he wants to avoid a potentially devastating conflict.

President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan , proposed a video conference between Donald Trump and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pleskian ʹ kind of tense diplomacy that could please the US leader, but it would be an analogy for careful Iranian diplomats.

Arghchi's visit Friday comes in the background of urgent international diplomacy and increasingly aggressive threats on both sides. Senior defence and intelligence officials from Israel and Saudi Arabia were also in Washington for talks on Iran this week, Axios reported on Thursday.

Trump has warned Iran that time is running out , pledging that any U.S. attack will be violent and much wider than the US intervention in Venezuela.

Iran has remained challenging, with Army Chief Major General Amir Hatami, who announced since 12-day War in June Iran has revised tactics and built 1,000 sea and land-based drones. He said Iran's fears and large arsenal of ballistic missiles could provide a devastating response to any attack. Iran's greatest military weakness is its air defence.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran was preparing for a military confrontation, while at the same time using diplomatic channels”.

The Kremlin called on both sides to acknowledge there was still time for diplomacy, but Turkey It appears it has taken over the role of the main mediator, while an increasingly concerned Middle East aims at an imminent conflict that can easily spread throughout the region.

Within Iran, those voices that have called on authorities to make concessions are drowning in an increasingly polarised society, in which some are demanding leadership to challenge America, and another is determined to provoke the regime's collapse.

In an effort to reunify an injured society, Iran's president, Masoud Peskian, has acknowledged his anger at the crackdown on protests, saying a full list of those killed in the subsequent crackdown by the government would be published along with families in mourning. But the current level of distrust within Iran and the power of security services is such that it is doubtful whether Peseskian will be able to convince Iranians or international observers that The death toll was not in tens of thousands .

Trump has not stated his targets clearly, claiming he would attack Iran to protect the protesters, but this week he links his threats to the country's nuclear programme. The American leader appears to be using the possibility of attacks on Iran's missile sites, as well as groups such as Islamic Revolutionary Guard troops, to imply that he intends to cause the regime to collapse, or at least the resignation of the Supreme Leader, Ajatolah Ali Khamenei. He claimed he had eliminated Iran's nuclear programme during the 12-day war in June, though US intelligence agencies later gave up Conflicting Views of Campaign Influences .

Erdogan spoke with Trump on Monday in what was described as an attempt to find common ground between Iran and the US before any deadline for attack. Trump has said he would attack Iran to protect the protesters, but then linked his threats to the country's nuclear programme. Photo: José Luis Magaña/ AP

In a brief post in social media, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Arghchi will travel to Turkey on Friday for an official visit. The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to constantly strengthen relations with its neighbours based on good neighbourly policy and common interests”, he said.

US administration officials have insisted that Iran fully understands Washington's specific requirements regarding the delivery of its heavily enriched uranium reserves to a third party, the completion of domestic uranium enrichment, restrictions on its missile programme and the completion of support for intermediate groups. All four requirements will be difficult to accept from Iran.

Speaking of Al Jazeera, Turkey's Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, said: “It is wrong to attack Iran. It is wrong to start war again. Iran is ready to negotiate the nuclear record. ”

He acknowledged that Iran faced challenges at the negotiating table, saying: “may seem humiliating to them. It will be very difficult to explain not only for themselves but also for guidance. So if we can make things more tolerant, I think this will help. ”

Fidan argued Iran should also present a new Middle East face, saying it had been a very sincere “” with Iranians that they “should build faith in the region [and] pay attention to how countries in the region are perceived by”.

Fidan met on Thursday with US Ambassador to Ankara and Special Representative for Syria Tom Barack.

In an effort to protect themselves from Iranian retaliation, most Gulf states have said they will not allow air space or their territory to be used to attack Iran. /Periscope/