ANKARA – Turkey, and Israel have begun work on restoring mutual diplomatic representation to the level of ambassador, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday, as the two countries seek to end more than a decade of strained relations.
In 2018, the two countries expelled their ambassadors and frequently traded barbs over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As they work to repair their relationship, energy has emerged as a key area for potential cooperation.
“In the short term, we will continue high-level mutual visits,” Cavusoglu said at a joint news conference with his Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid. “We have begun work on raising our diplomatic representation to the level of ambassador.”
Lapid was in Ankara after months of warming relations, but Israel was concerned that its citizens could be attacked by Iranian agents in Turkey, a Nato member state.
Cavusoglu stated that he and Lapid were in constant communication regarding threats to Israeli citizens. Lapid thanked Turkey for its assistance in foiling a suspected Iranian plot to harm Israelis in Istanbul and stated that the effort was still ongoing.
Israel has warned its citizens against traveling to Turkey, citing suspected assassination or kidnapping plots by Iran, which has vowed to avenge the assassination of a Revolutionary Guards colonel in Tehran on May 22 that it blamed on Israeli agents.
“In recent weeks, Israeli citizens’ lives have been saved as a result of security and diplomatic cooperation between Israel and Turkey,” Lapid said. “We are confident that Turkey will respond appropriately to the Iranians in this matter.” Cavusoglu paid a visit to Israel last month to promote increased economic cooperation. It was a senior Turkish official’s first visit in 15 years.
Despite the years of hostility, Turkey and Israel have maintained trade, which was worth $6.7 billion in 2021, up from $5 billion in 2019 and 2020, according to official figures.
After acting on Monday to dissolve parliament and hold an early national election, Lapid is set to take over as Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s caretaker government.
According to local media, Turkey has detained eight people suspected of working for an Iranian intelligence cell plotting to assassinate Israeli tourists in Istanbul.
The eight, who were not all Iranian nationals, were apprehended last week in three houses in Istanbul’s popular Beyoglu district, according to the private IHA news agency.
Last week, Israel urged its citizens to flee Turkey immediately due to “possible” threats from Iranian operatives.
Iran and Israel have been at odds for years, but tensions have risen following a series of high-profile incidents that Tehran has blamed on Israel.
The Islamic Republic blamed Israel for the May 22 assassination of Revolutionary Guards Colonel Sayyad Khodai in his Tehran home.
According to the IHA, in retaliation for Khodai’s murder and other attacks, Iran dispatched agents disguised as businessmen, tourists, and students to Istanbul to assassinate Israelis.
According to the report, the Iranians had split into four groups of two assassins to better track their Israeli targets.
“The assassination team’s hitmen, who settled in two separate rooms on the second and fourth floors of a hotel in Beyoglu, were (detained) with a large number of weapons and ammunition,” according to IHA.
