ANKARA — Turkish sources said the Defense Department has discussed U.S. military
access to several bases in Turkey. They said they included air and naval
bases that spanned an area from Central Asia to the Mediterranean.
"The request was for temporary access and connected to the crisis with
Iran," a Turkish source said.
On April 17, the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet reported that the United
States has sought to establish a presence in three naval bases in Turkey.
The newspaper said the United States demanded access to bases located along
the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, Middle East Newsline reported.
Turkey's government denied the report. The U.S. embassy in Ankara said
the story had "no factual basis."
Another Turkish daily, Aksam, said the United States has proposed the
construction of an air base near the Iranian border. Aksam said Ankara has
already expropriated land near the Iranian-Turkish border for what was
said to be an airport.
The sources said the United States has submitted a range of proposals
for closer military cooperation with Ankara. They said the Pentagon has
sought to increase the U.S. military presence in Turkey to facilitate
reconnaissance and logistics for any air strike against nuclear facilities
in Iran.
Iran has warned Turkey not to cooperate with the United States.
On April 17, the leader of the Iranian Hizbullah threatened suicide strikes
against Turkey.
"You should have no doubt that we will attack you as well if the United
States uses bases in Turkey, receives support from Turkey," Iranian
Hizbullah chief Mohammed Bager Kharrazi told Turkish NTV television. "We
will retaliate against all of those who support our attacker."
On Thursday, the U.S. intelligence community played down Iran's
capability to produce nuclear fuel. National Intelligence Director John
Negroponte said Teheran still remains years away from producing a sufficient
amount of enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon.
"Our assessment at the moment is that even though we believe that Iran
is determined to acquire or obtain a nuclear weapon, that we believe that it
is still a number of years off before they are likely to have enough fissile
material to assemble into, or to put into a nuclear weapon; perhaps into the
next decade," Negroponte said. "So I think it's important that this issue be
kept in perspective."