Turkey on Tuesday affirmed it is taking all the necessary security measures within the framework of its cooperation mechanisms in the fight against terrorism.
“It is a fact that Turkey is a safe country and continues to fight against terrorism in the most effective way through domestic and cross-border operations. The successful results in fight against terrorism can be seen clearly,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ambassador Tanju Bilgic said in a statement.
His comments came after Israel raised its Istanbul travel advisory to the highest level on Monday because of what it said was a threat of Iranian attempts to kill or abduct Israelis vacationing in Turkey.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said a "huge effort" by Israel's security forces had saved "Israeli lives in recent weeks.”
His warning followed the assassination of a senior officer in the Revolutionary Guard Corps, Col. Hassan Sayyad Khodaei, which Iran blamed on Israel.
Bilgic said the “travel warnings are considered to be related to different international developments and motives. In fact, our relevant authorities are taking all the necessary security measures within the framework of our cooperation mechanisms regarding the fight against terrorism.”
He said Turkey maintains its fight against terrorism without any discrimination among the terrorist organizations and contributes to the security of the international community, adding that Ankara’s efforts in this regard are also known and commended by the international community.
However, the Turkish spokesperson failed to comment on reports published by Israeli media outlets, which said Turkish and Israeli security agencies have arrested a number of Revolutionary Guard members who were involved in an Iranian plot to kidnap Israeli tourists in Turkey and foiled it in the nick of time.
Two days ago, the Israeli National Security Council (NSC) Counter-Terrorism Bureau has raised the travel warning for Istanbul to Level 4 – the highest level. Early this month, the travel warning to the public for Turkey was reissued in the wake of security concerns regarding Iranian attempts to attack Israeli targets around the world, but especially in Turkey.
The NSC called on Israelis currently in Istanbul to leave the city at the earliest opportunity, and on Israelis planning to travel to Turkey to avoid doing so until further notice.
