Türkiye is making intense efforts to prevent attacks by Israel or its supporters against Iran from turning into a “greater disaster,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Monday.
Speaking at an event marking the anniversary of the foundation of the Memur-Sen civil servants trade union in Ankara, Erdoğan blasted Israel’s war against Iran, now in its 11th day.
“Türkiye never condones attacks against Iran’s sovereignty or security of the region, no matter who they come from and we clearly express our reaction,” Erdoğan said.
The U.S. military bombed three Iranian nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan on Sunday, amid rising concerns over an Iranian military response to the strikes.
The U.S. attacks were the latest escalation in a U.S.-backed Israeli military assault on Iran since June 13.
In a meeting with Iran’s top diplomat in Istanbul on Saturday, Erdoğan called for technical and leadership-level talks between Iran and the United States to resolve the tensions.
The U.S. attack has stoked concerns for a wider regional conflict and drawn international outcry.
Erdoğan told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that Türkiye was ready to take on the role of facilitator.
He said the region cannot tolerate another war and said Israel must be “stopped immediately.”
Since the start of the Israeli-Iranian conflict, Erdoğan has been scrambling to end the hostilities. He has held a flurry of phone calls with leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, offering to act as a facilitator for the resumption of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
Israel on Monday said the Israeli army launched a new wave of airstrikes on targets in Tehran, including a prison in the city’s northwest region. The Times of Israel news outlet said that the prison was targeted to facilitate the escape of prisoners.
The new attacks came shortly after Iran fired a salvo of missiles into central and northern Israel on Monday as the conflict continued to widen between the two regional arch-foes.
Israel and Iran have been engaged in aerial combat since June 13, when Tel Aviv launched a surprise attack on several sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.
Israeli authorities said at least 25 people have been killed and hundreds injured since then in Iranian missile attacks.
Meanwhile, in Iran, at least 430 people have been killed and more than 3,500 wounded in the Israeli assault, according to the Iranian Health Ministry.
Tension with Israel
Erdoğan on Monday also assured his government was taking very necessary measures to keep 86 million Turks safe.
Last week, he announced Türkiye was planning to step up its production of medium- and long-range missiles.
Türkiye has tense relations with Israel, but analysts or officials don’t see an immediate threat of the conflict spreading into NATO-member Türkiye.
Türkiye has strongly criticized Israel’s actions, saying Iran has the legitimate right to defend itself against Israel’s attacks, which came as nuclear negotiations were ongoing.
Once close to rapprochement, Türkiye and Israel have grown deeply estranged, especially after the start of the war in Gaza in 2023, with Erdoğan becoming one of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fiercest critics.
Relations further deteriorated following the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad’s regime, as Israel grew increasingly hostile to Turkish influence in Syria.
Earlier this year, Türkiye and Israel, however, established a “de-escalation mechanism” aimed at preventing conflict between their troops in Syria.
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