Israel’s actions are dragging region toward a disaster: Turkish president

ISTANBUL

Israel is led by a network that considers itself superior to others and is gradually dragging the region toward a disaster, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday.

“We all know that the attacks targeting Gaza first, then Yemen and Lebanon, and most recently Iran, are not solely motivated by security concerns,” Erdogan said at an iftar event at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara.

Erdogan said that at a time when the global system built especially after World War II is undergoing a historic rupture, facts must be conveyed clearly to world public opinion.

“Israel has kept our first qibla, Al-Aqsa Mosque, closed to Muslim worshippers for 17 days entirely on arbitrary grounds and without any authority,” he said, adding that the parallel circulation of narratives ranging from promised land ambitions to apocalyptic scenarios was clearly deliberate rather than coincidental.

"It is essential that we break free from imposed agendas and explain these realities, this barbarity, and this state of madness to the world in a way that leaves an impact," he said.

The US and Israel have continued a joint offensive on Iran since Feb. 28, killing so far more than 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, along with Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries, which it says are targeting “US military assets,” causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global markets and aviation.

Israeli forces have also expanded operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.