Fidan: Iran nuclear breakout could drag Turkey into regional arms race
The top Turkish diplomat said an Iranian nuclear breakout could push Ankara into a nuclear race but declined to say whether Turkey would pursue its own nuclear weapons.
ANKARA — Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned that an Iranian nuclear breakout could trigger a chain reaction across the region, pushing rival countries to pursue atomic weapons, including Ankara.
Details: “We do not want dramatic shifts in the regional balance of power,” Fidan told CNN Turk late Monday when asked whether Turkey would support Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.
Such a scenario “could push countries that have different problems with Iran into seeking nuclear weapons." He added, "We, too, might inevitably have to join the same race."
A Turkish diplomatic source later told Al-Monitor that Fidan was addressing the broader risk of regional proliferation, noting that if both Israel and Iran possess nuclear weapons, other nations would feel compelled to follow suit.
