Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Türkiye is making intense efforts to prevent attacks by Israel and its supporters against Iran from turning into "a greater disaster.”
Erdogan's remarks came during his address at a trade union event on Monday in the capital Ankara.
Ankara never condones attacks against Iran’s sovereignty and the security of region, "no matter who they come from," Erdogan said.
"We clearly express our reaction," he added.
Türkiye’s key role
Meanwhile, Germany has said that Türkiye plays an “important role” amid international diplomatic efforts to resolve the Iran-Israel conflict.
“There will be a whole series of talks (on Iran) on the sidelines (of this week’s NATO summit in The Hague),” a top-ranking chancellery official told media representatives in Berlin, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“We will certainly have the opportunity to talk about it with the Americans. There are other partners as well. I'm thinking of Türkiye right now. They are important and play an important role.” He pointed to the latest talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Chancellor Friedrich Merz on the Iranian crisis, saying the sides “informed each other about crisis management efforts.”
“The chancellor informed the Turkish president about the message with which he was holding his talks, and the Turkish president also indicated that, despite important nuances of difference, there is a great deal of agreement in the assessment of the risk posed by the Iranian nuclear programme, for example, and with regard to further Iranian escalation,” the official said.
'The region cannot endure another war'
On Saturday, on the sidelines of an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Istanbul, Erdogan met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and discussed the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict during their talks.
The two leaders discussed the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran as well as broader regional and global issues, said Türkiye's Communications Directorate.
Erdogan stressed that Türkiye has shown a firm stance against Israel’s attacks on Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria and has the same position on strikes against Iran. He underlined that “the region cannot endure another war,” calling for an immediate halt to Israeli aggression and a return to diplomacy as the path to resolving nuclear disputes.
Noting that Türkiye is ready to do its part, including facilitating dialogue, Erdogan "emphasised the need for immediate steps to start diplomacy through technical and high-level talks between Iran and the US, and reaffirmed that Türkiye will continue to support this process."
