Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi arrived in Istanbul yesterday and met and held talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a one-day visit.
On the sidelines of this visit, Araqchi emphasized that regional conditions require closer consultations with Türkiye.
He reminded the audience of the existence of serious challenges in the region and said that the goals raised by the United States and others have doubled the need for closer consultation with Türkiye.
The Iranian Foreign Minister also strongly criticized the European Union, describing the union’s decision to list the Revolutionary Guard Corps as a major strategic mistake.
In a message on his X account, he wrote that Europe, with this action and also pursuing the snapback mechanism at the request of the United States, is fanning the flames of the crisis and is not playing a role in preventing a full-scale war.
Referring to Israel’s attacks on Gaza, Araqchi called Europe’s approach hypocritical and said that European countries claim to defend human rights in Iran without taking practical action against what he called “genocide” in Gaza.
He warned that the spread of all-out war in the region would directly harm Europe, and that rising energy prices and their knock-on effects would threaten the continent’s interests.
Araqchi described Europe as a “declining continent” and added that European citizens deserve better performance from their governments.
