Erdogan warns of 'nuclear fallout', harmful 'migration' as Israel-Iran war surge

The Israel-Iran war will lead to a surge in migration and a possible nuclear fallout, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday (June 20). Israel was alarmed over the possibility of Iran developing a nuclear weapon, which led to a massive attack by Israel and a resulting retaliation from Iran.

“The spiral of violence triggered by Israel's attacks could harm the region and Europe in terms of migration and the possibility of nuclear leakage,” said Erdogan in a call with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, as reported by AFP.

Erdogan professed a solution 'through negotiations', and added that the ongoing violence had 'raised the threat to regional security to the highest level’

However Turkish official said that the recent wave of migration is nothing ‘unusual’. According to a report by AFP, several hundred people are migrating from Iran to the eastern Turkish city of Van via the main Kapikoy border.

The nation has maintained a complex relationship with both Israel and Iran. With Iran, Turkey had a good relationship, a mixture of cooperation and competition. Cooperation for trade and diplomatic dialogue, and competition for regional influence in Syria and Iraq. Israel and Turkey, however, had a murky relationship, marred by high-profile incidents like the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident. However recent years, there has been cautious thawing, and restoration of the relationship between Israel and Turkey. Now, as tensions escalate between its two powerful neighbours, Turkey finds itself in a delicate balancing act.