Turkey appoints top spy with knowledge of Iran

Ankara:  Turkey has appointed a foreign policy expert with close knowledge of Iran as its new top spy.

The announcement comes as the country linking Europe with the Middle East adapts its security priorities to deal with external threats.

Hakan Fidan's appointment last week as head of the National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) reflects a shift in focus from domestic issues such as Kurdish separatism to trans-national threats such as Al Qaida and nuclear proliferation.

Intelligence-gathering

"Turkey is an international player, so it's matching its intelligence-gathering activities to its new role," said Gareth Jenkins, an Istanbul-based security analyst.

"Turkey has been generally introspective but as it gets more involved outside its borders, the nature of the threat has changed."