ANKARA — Turkish authorities arrested six people on charges of political and military espionage allegedly carried out on behalf of Tehran, as Ankara faces heightened regional tensions and quietly prepares contingency plans amid ongoing US threats to attack Iran.
The suspects were rounded up in raids across five provinces — including Istanbul, Ankara and the southeastern province of Van, which borders Iran — Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency and other Turkish outlets reported Wednesday.
All six were formally remanded in custody by a court after their arrest, Anadolu reported.
The suspects are accused of maintaining direct or indirect links with intelligence operatives from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and collecting sensitive information on military installations and other strategically significant locations inside Turkey, as well as on critical sites abroad, according to the agency.
One of the detainees was identified as Iranian national Ashkan Jalali, while the remaining five are Turkish citizens, the private Demiroren News Agency reported.
Turkish authorities have accused the suspects of involvement in transferring armed drones through Turkish territory for operational use in third countries, with the intelligence gathered allegedly passed on to Iranian intelligence services.
Turkish officials have not disclosed which third countries were involved or whether the alleged drone transfers were completed.
The suspects were also allegedly conducting reconnaissance and surveillance targeting Incirlik Air Base, a key military facility in southern Turkey.
Incirlik in focus
Incirlik Air Base, located in Turkey’s Mediterranean province of Adana, is a Turkish-owned facility operating under Ankara’s authority and jointly used by the Turkish Air Force and US forces within NATO frameworks.
Amid lingering threats of US military intervention following large-scale protests inside Iran against the theocratic regime, Tehran earlier this month warned regional states including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that US military facilities on their soil would be considered legitimate targets in the event of hostilities. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have since declared neutrality, pledging that their territory would not be used for any attack on Iran.
Ankara, meanwhile, has openly opposed potential US strikes on Iran, as Turkish officials work to facilitate dialogue between Washington and Tehran.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed de-escalation efforts with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, on Wednesday, according to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources.
Contingency plans for refugee fallout
Among Ankara’s most immediate concerns over a potential US strike is the prospect of a new refugee influx from Iran, with which Turkey shares roughly 535 kilometers (some 332 miles) of border. Turkey already hosts the world’s largest refugee population, including more than 2 million registered Syrians. The number of unregistered migrants is believed to be significantly higher.
Turkish officials have already begun drafting contingency plans to manage a possible wave of arrivals from Iran should instability worsen.
In a closed-door briefing to parliament last week, officials outlined three possible scenarios, a source present at the meeting told Al-Monitor.
These include containing displaced civilians in humanitarian protection zones on the Iranian side of the border; establishing temporary shelters on “no-man’s land” areas along the frontier; or setting up temporary reception and screening centers along the Turkish side of the border while preventing onward movement into the country’s interior.
