Erdoğan says Türkiye pushing diplomacy on Iran tensions

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated on Wednesday that Türkiye is making “necessary appeals and initiatives” to de-escalate tensions, prolong the fragile ceasefire, and sustain negotiations regarding US and Israeli attacks on Iran. Speaking at his Justice and Development (AK) Party’s parliamentary group meeting, Erdoğan warned: “The Israeli government, which is known to be unhappy with the ceasefire process, must not be allowed to sabotage it.”

Call for diplomacy over weapons

“Negotiations cannot be held with clenched fists. Weapons must not be allowed to speak again instead of words. The window of opportunity opened by the ceasefire must be utilized,” Erdoğan said. He also praised Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for his firm stance against what he called Netanyahu’s threats in Gaza. Regarding regional stability, Erdoğan declared: “If there is to be peace in our region, it will be despite the Zionist regime. If stability is achieved, it will again be despite the Israeli government.”

Türkiye as voice of the oppressed

Erdoğan vowed that Türkiye would continue to “call the oppressor an oppressor, the pirate a pirate, and the killer a killer,” and to be the voice of Gaza’s children and grieving mothers. He added that Türkiye would defend the rights of Palestinians in the West Bank and Lebanese children killed in their sleep. Responding to Netanyahu’s criticism, Erdoğan said: “I remind the ‘baby killers’ who speak against me and our country of some facts: The Republic of Türkiye is not an ordinary state.” The Foreign Ministry had earlier slammed Netanyahu’s remarks, noting the ICC arrest warrant against him for war crimes.