A screen at the press center shows Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States on May 21, 2025, at the Varkert Bazar cultural center in Budapest. (Credit: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP.)
BEIRUT — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned on Friday that Israel is seeking to drag the world into a "disaster" after its strikes on Iran, urging the international community to put an end to Israel's "banditry." A harsh critic of Israel and a fervent supporter of the Palestinian cause, Erdogan accused Israel of taking "its strategy of drowning our region, particularly Gaza, in blood, tears, and instability, to a very dangerous stage" after a series of airstrikes on Iran.
"Israel's attacks against our neighbor, Iran, are a blatant provocation that disregards international law," he stated on X. "The international community must put an end to Israeli banditry that targets global and regional stability," Erdogan said. The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "is trying to drag our region and the entire world into disaster with its reckless, aggressive, and unlawful actions," he added.