Three armed men were involved this Tuesday in a shootout with Turkish police near the Israeli consulate in the Besiktas district of Istanbul, in an incident that left one attacker dead and the other two wounded and arrested.
The individuals were wearing camouflage clothing, carrying backpacks and long-barreled weapons, and arrived at the location in a rental car coming from the town of Izmit.
The confrontation lasted approximately ten minutes, according to initial reports from local Turkish media gathered by El País.
The governor of Istanbul, Davut Gül, confirmed that the three attackers were "neutralized" and described the incident as "an action that smells of provocation."
The Turkish Interior Minister, Mustafá Çiftci, specified that the offenders have ties to religious armed groups, likely referring to jihadist organizations.
Çiftci provided details about the profiles of the three men: "One of the terrorists is connected to an organization that exploits religion. The other two are siblings, and one of them has a history of drug offenses."
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that there was no diplomatic staff at the consulate in Istanbul at the time of the attack, and sources consulted by the Reuters agency indicated that there was no Israeli personnel at the embassy in Ankara either.
Following the incident, there remains a strong armed police presence in the area near the Israeli diplomatic mission.
The attack occurs in a context of extreme tension in the Middle East, marked by the Epic Fury Operation, the joint military offensive by the United States and Israel against Iran launched in late February, which has targeted over 5,000 Iranian objectives, including nuclear facilities and positions of the Revolutionary Guard.
Iran responded to that offensive by launching 500 missiles and 2,000 drones against Israel and U.S. bases in the region, and closed the Strait of Hormuz, impacting 20% of the world's oil and gas supply.
The attack in Istanbul occurred just a day after President Donald Trump issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Iran to negotiate or face what he described as "devastating consequences."
Turkey, a NATO member, has taken a critical stance towards Israel regarding the conflict in Gaza and has acted as a potential mediator in the regional crisis alongside China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, making its territory a particularly sensitive setting for such incidents.
The Turkish Minister of Justice, Akin Gürlek, announced that three prosecutors will investigate the case.
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