Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was trying to set the region on fire and to sabotage nuclear talks with attacks on Iran, said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan while talking with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian in a phone call on Saturday.
A statement by his office said Erdogan told Pezeshkian that Israel’s attacks aimed to divert attention from what he called a genocide in Gaza.
The Turkish president Erdogan also spoke to his counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Jordan and Egypt about the Israel-Iran conflict, as well as regional and global issues.
Saudi Arabia
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone call with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss the escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, as well as broader regional and global issues, according to a statement from Türkiye’s Directorate of Communications.
During the conversation on Saturday, President Erdogan warned that Israel, under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership, poses the “biggest threat to the stability and security of the region”.
He said this had been demonstrated once again through Israel’s recent attack on Iran.
Erdogan emphasised that Israel must be stopped in order to reduce tensions. He also criticised the international community for “turning a blind eye to the occupation and genocide in Palestine”, saying this silence has emboldened Israel’s “lawless and aggressive” actions.
Pakistan
Speaking to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over the phone, Erdogan said that silence over occupation and genocide in Palestine empowered Israel’s actions in Iran.
Israel’s attacks on Iran were “unacceptable”, Erdogan said, adding the attacks seriously damaged regional security. He warned that Tel Aviv posed a threat to global stability and security.
The Turkish president noted that the attacks by Israel undermined efforts to reach a resolution on Iran’s nuclear programme.
He highlighted the importance of not allowing Israel to use these attacks to overshadow the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Egypt
Erdogan called his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah el Sisi, and said Israel’s attacks “seriously” harmed regional security and that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s lawlessness threatened global stability, Türkiye’s Communications Directorate said on X.
Erdogan said Netanyahu government’s disregard for international law posed a global threat to stability.
Stressing that the region could not afford another crisis, Erdogan warned that Israel was trying to derail efforts for a nuclear deal with Iran.
He underlined the importance of continuing the talks, which were mediated by Oman, and reiterated that Israel’s attacks on Iran should not be allowed to overshadow the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The sixth round of Iran-US nuclear talks scheduled for Sunday in Muscat has been called off, Oman’s foreign minister confirmed on Saturday.
Jordan
Erdogan and Jordanian King Abdullah II discussed over the phone the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, which began with Israeli attacks on Iranian territories, claiming the lives of civilians as well as high-ranking military officers, Türkiye’s Communications Directorate said.
Israel’s attacks on Iran constituted a provocation that could seriously harm the region’s security, Erdogan warned, stressing that “the aggressive and lawless stance” of Israel and the government led by Netanyahu created a global issue for stability and security.
Noting that the global community’s silence on the occupation and genocide in Palestine enabled Israel’s aggression to escalate to this level, Erdogan said these attacks undermined efforts to resolve the issue over Iran’s nuclear programme.
Any potential nuclear leakage resulting from Israel’s strikes threatens civilians as well as regional and global health—an issue Israel was disregarding, he added.
