Newsletters
Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said Wednesday that seven of nine Turkish-owned ships in the Strait of Hormuz have asked to leave the strategic waterway and are under close watch by Ankara.
“Seven of the nine Turkish-owned ships in the Strait of Hormuz have requested passage out, and we are monitoring them,” Uraloglu said.
“There are currently nine Turkish-owned ships in the Strait of Hormuz, one of which sails under the Turkish flag. Seven of them have requested to leave, and we are monitoring them,” he told Turkish news agency Anadolu.
The minister said Türkiye does not have any aircraft left in the Middle East or the Gulf region after it gradually withdrew its remaining three planes.
“We have also brought back our remaining three aircraft. We have no aircraft left in the Middle East or the Gulf region,” he said.
Uraloglu said Ankara is closely following developments surrounding Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for a significant share of the world’s energy supplies.
Tensions in the region have risen since Feb. 28, when U.S. and Israeli forces attacked Iran, prompting Tehran to launch drones and missiles across the Middle East and close the strait.
A ceasefire began on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but subsequent talks in Islamabad have yet to yield a lasting settlement. Iran and the United States continue to trade proposals aimed at resuming direct negotiations.
Talking about alternative trade routes, Uraloglu said Türkiye and Saudi Arabia are in talks to revive the historic Hejaz Railway to serve as both a tourism and transport corridor.
“We are in talks with the Saudi side on the Modern Hejaz Railway. In the first phase, we plan to reach Saudi Arabia, then the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
The initial leg would link Türkiye to Aleppo, with onward connections to Damascus and Jordan through existing lines.
“We are continuing talks with the Saudi side. Our ultimate goal is to extend this line to Oman, connect it to the ocean and create an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz,” Uraloglu said.
Planning is complete for the 1,200-kilometer Development Road, which would link Iraq’s Grand Faw Port to the Turkish border. The project will be financed jointly by the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Iraq and Türkiye, and will include highway, railway, energy and communications infrastructure.
“If we had completed both the Development Road and the Modern Hejaz Railway, the world would not have been talking so much about the Strait of Hormuz. We are waiting for the conflict environment in the region to calm down and will continue afterward,” the minister said.
Uraloglu added that work continues on the Zangezur Corridor that will link mainland Azerbaijan directly to its Nakhchivan region through Armenia, creating a direct land route to Türkiye.
Construction has begun on the Turkish section of the Kars-Igdir-Aralik-Dilucu railway line, while work on the Azerbaijani side is nearing completion.
Ankara is monitoring developments on the segment that would cross Armenia.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
