By Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ece Toksabay
ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey has stepped up security on its border with Iran since the start of Tehran’s conflict with Israel, but has not yet seen any increase in people trying to cross the frontier, a Turkish Defence Ministry source said on Thursday.
Turkey – a NATO member which shares a 560-km (350-mile) border with Iran – has condemned Israel’s attacks on Iran, saying they violate international law.
It has also offered to help arrange a resumption of nuclear talks between Iran and the United States.
“Intense security precautions have been taken via additional measures at all our borders including with Iran,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
There were no signs of “a mass immigration wave toward Turkey,” the source added.
Turkey already hosts millions of refugees, most of them from another neighbour, Syria, and says it cannot take any more.
On Wednesday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel’s attacks on Iran as “state terrorism” and said Turkey would raise its own defences to such a level that “nobody will even consider” attacking it.
Turkey has long said it is working to build up its defences, including long-range missiles – though officials and analysts say its plan for a “Steel Dome” defence system along the lines of Israel’s “Iron Dome” is years away.
Barin Kayaoglu, a professor of international relations at Ankara Social Sciences University, said that while Turkey’s air defence systems could be effective if Ankara ever faced conflict scenarios like the fighting between Iran and Israel, more units were needed.
“Turkey needs to gain range, altitude and anti-ballistic missile capabilities,” he told Reuters. Any “Steel Dome” system “probably needs another five-six years”, he said.
(Editing by Daren Butler; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
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