Iran top diplomat to visit Turkey after Israeli charges of attacks

• Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian will visit Ankara on Monday.
• Visit comes four days after Israel thanked Turkey for foiling an alleged Iranian assassination plot.
• Israel advised its citizens to leave Turkey due to the “real and immediate danger” posed by Iranian operatives.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian will visit Ankara on Monday after Tehran dismissed Israel’s allegations that Iran was planning anti-Israeli attacks in Turkey as “ridiculous.”

Amir-Abdollahian “will pay a visit to Turkey” on Monday for talks on bilateral issues as well as current regional and international developments, according to a statement from Turkey’s foreign ministry.

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The visit comes four days after Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid — set to assume the helm of a caretaker government — thanked Turkey for foiling an alleged Iranian assassination plot against its citizens in Istanbul.

Last week, Turkey detained eight members of an alleged Iranian cell who were plotting to kill Israelis including a former ambassador ahead of Lapid’s visit to Ankara.

“We are full of appreciation for the Turkish government for this professional and coordinated activity,” Lapid said after talks in Ankara Thursday designed to highlight a thaw in relations between the two occasional regional rivals.

On Friday, Iran denied the “baseless” claims.

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“The baseless allegations… are ridiculous and part of a pre-designed plot to destroy relations between the two Muslim countries,” foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a statement.

Last week, Israel advised its citizens to leave Turkey due to the “real and immediate danger” posed by Iranian operatives.