Iran's top diplomat to visit Turkey after Israeli charges of attacks

The visit comes four days after Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid was in Ankara

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, right, and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid in Ankara. AP

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian will visit Ankara on Monday after Tehran dismissed allegations by Israel that the Islamic Republic was planning attacks on its citizens in Turkey as “ridiculous”.

Mr Amirabdollahian “will pay a visit to Turkey” on Monday for talks on bilateral issues as well as current regional and international developments,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement, according to AFP.

The visit comes four days after Israel's Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who is likely to lead a caretaker government in Israel, thanked Turkey for foiling an alleged Iranian assassination plot against its citizens in Istanbul.

Last week, Turkey detained eight members of an alleged Iranian cell who were plotting to kill Israelis, including a former ambassador ahead, before Mr Lapid's visit to Ankara.

“We are full of appreciation for the Turkish government for this professional and co-ordinated activity,” Mr Lapid said after talks in Ankara on Thursday that were intended to demonstrate a thaw in relations between the two occasional rivals.

On Friday, Iran denied there was truth to the claims.

“The baseless allegations … are ridiculous and part of a pre-designed plot to destroy relations between the two Muslim countries,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a statement.

Israel last week called on its citizens to leave Turkey because of the “real and immediate danger” coming from Iranian operatives.