Top Turkish diplomat says Iran ready to negotiate, warns against US attack

‘It’s wrong to start the war again,’ the top Turkish diplomat tells Al Jazeera amid escalating US-Iran tensions.Published On 28 Jan 2026Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has warned that a United States attack on Iran would be “wrong”, calling on Washington and Tehran to resolve their issues diplomatically and gradually.In an interview with Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas, segments of which aired on Wednesday, Fidan called for regional cooperation as the US amasses military assets in the Middle East amid a spike in tensions with Iran.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Iran’s president warns of regional instability amid US threatslist 2 of 3Trump says US will end support for Iraq if al-Maliki reinstated as PMlist 3 of 3Symbolic Doomsday Clock moves closer to midnight amid ‘catastrophic risks’end of list“It’s wrong to start the war again,” Fidan said.The US has sent an aircraft carrier strike group to the Gulf as Trump continues to threaten to launch renewed attacks against Iran after last June’s 12-day conflict.For their part, Iranian officials have promised to launch a “comprehensive and regret-inducing response” if attacked again.Diplomacy still possibleEarlier this month, Trump told Iranian antigovernment protesters that “help is on the way”, urging them to take over state institutions.On Tuesday, Trump highlighted the growing US military force in the region while keeping the door open for diplomacy.“By the way, there’s another beautiful armada floating beautifully toward Iran right now. So we’ll see. I hope they make a deal,” he told supporters at a rally.Despite the escalating rhetoric, Fidan suggested that a diplomatic resolution is still possible.“Iran is ready to negotiate a nuclear file again,” the top Turkish diplomat said.After Israel started the war by bombing Iran in June, the US struck Iran’s three main nuclear facilities. Trump has repeatedly claimed that the attack “obliterated” the Iranian nuclear programme.