ANKARA: Turkey’s military conducted an air and naval exercise in the eastern Mediterranean, its defense ministry said Friday, in an apparent show of force linked to the Libyan conflict.
The drill, which lasted for eight hours Thursday, was dubbed an “Open Sea Training” exercise by the ministry in a statement that did not mention Libya directly.
Eight frigates and corvettes participated, along with 17 planes that flew from Eskisehir, central Turkey on a 2,000-km (1,250-mile) round trip, it said.
The private NTV broadcaster said the exercise was held in Libyan waters but did not offer any explanation.
The defense ministry reported that the exercise was “conducted successfully,” sharing photographs and videos of the F-16 fighter jets and warships in action.
Turkish state news agency Anadolu dubbed the drill a “show of force.”
The exercise came as tensions grow in the eastern Mediterranean owing to the conflict in Libya, and a dispute with Cyprus and Greece over offshore hydrocarbon resources.
Turkey has already sent ships to search for oil and gas off the divided island of Cyprus.
Turkey backs the UN-recognized Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, which has been under attack by military strongman Khalifa Haftar since April 2019.
Haftar is supported by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, with whom Turkey’s relations are strained, as well as by Russia.
Momentum in the conflict changed after Ankara sent Syrian fighters, drones and military advisers to Libya after signing maritime and security agreements with Tripoli.
GNA forces have in recent weeks recaptured outposts in western Libya that had been seized by pro-Haftar loyalists, who then tried to march on the capital.
On Wednesday, a Turkish warship prevented a new EU naval mission enforcing the Libya arms embargo from checking a suspect freighter off the war-torn country’s coast.
Turkish pro-government daily Yeni Safak reported Friday that Ankara could set up two bases in Libya, one southwest of Tripoli at Al-Watiya that would host drones and the other in the port city of Misrata.
Turkey military runs drill in east Mediterranean ‘show of force’
https://arab.news/rx5nj
Turkey military runs drill in east Mediterranean ‘show of force’
- The drill, which lasted for eight hours Thursday, was dubbed an “Open Sea Training” exercise by the ministry in a statement that did not mention Libya directly
- The exercise came as tensions grow in the eastern Mediterranean owing to the conflict in Libya, and a dispute with Cyprus and Greece over offshore hydrocarbon resources
Trump warns Iran of ‘very traumatic’ outcome if no nuclear deal
- Speaking a day after he hosted Netanyahu at the White House, Trump said he hoped for a result “over the next month”
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump threatened Iran Thursday with “very traumatic” consequences if it fails to make a nuclear deal — but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was skeptical about the quality of any such agreement.
Speaking a day after he hosted Netanyahu at the White House, Trump said he hoped for a result “over the next month” from Washington’s negotiations with Tehran over its nuclear program.
“We have to make a deal, otherwise it’s going to be very traumatic, very traumatic. I don’t want that to happen, but we have to make a deal,” Trump told reporters.
“This will be very traumatic for Iran if they don’t make a deal.”
Trump — who is considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to pressure Iran — recalled the US military strikes he ordered on Tehran’s nuclear facilities during Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in July last year.
“We’ll see if we can get a deal with them, and if we can’t, we’ll have to go to phase two. Phase two will be very tough for them,” Trump said.
Netanyahu had traveled to Washington to push Trump to take a harder line in the Iran nuclear talks, particularly on including the Islamic Republic’s arsenal of ballistic missiles.
But the Israeli and US leaders apparently remained at odds, with Trump saying after their meeting at the White House on Wednesday that he had insisted the negotiations should continue.
- ‘General skepticism’ -
Netanyahu said in Washington on Thursday before departing for Israel that Trump believed he was laying the ground for a deal.
“He believes that the conditions he is creating, combined with the fact that they surely understand they made a mistake last time when they didn’t reach an agreement, may create the conditions for achieving a good deal,” Netanyahu said, according to a video statement from his office.
But the Israeli premier added: “I will not hide from you that I expressed general skepticism regarding the quality of any agreement with Iran.”
Any deal “must include the elements that are very important from our perspective,” Netanyahu continued, listing Iran’s ballistic missile program and its support for armed groups such as the Palestinian movement Hamas, Yemen’s Houthi rebels and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“It’s not just the nuclear issue,” he said.
Despite their differences on Iran, Trump signaled his strong personal support for Netanyahu as he criticized Israeli President Isaac Herzog for rejecting his request to pardon the prime minister on corruption charges.
“You have a president that refuses to give him a pardon. I think that man should be ashamed of himself,” Trump said on Thursday.
Trump has repeatedly hinted at potential US military action against Iran following its deadly crackdown on protests last month, even as Washington and Tehran restarted talks last week with a meeting in Oman.
The last round of talks between the two foes was cut short by Israel’s war with Iran and the US strikes.
So far, Iran has rejected expanding the new talks beyond the issue of its nuclear program. Tehran denies seeking a nuclear weapon, and has said it will not give in to “excessive demands” on the subject.
