Netanyahu biggest obstacle to regional peace, says Erdogan at OIC meeting
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the 'biggest obstacle to regional peace' and that Israeli attacks on Iran right before a new round of nuclear talks with the United States aimed to sabotage the negotiations.
Addressing Arab League diplomats during a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on Saturday, Erdogan urged countries with influence over Israel not to listen to its 'poison' and to seek a solution to the fighting via dialogue without allowing a wider conflict.
Israeli attacks on Iran show that Netanyahu 'and his government … do not want any issues or any matters to be solved diplomatically,' said Erdogan.
'Netanyahu's Zionist ambitions have no other purpose than to drag our region and … the whole world into a big disaster,' he added.
Erdogan accused the Western leaders of providing 'unconditional support' to Israel. He said Turkiye would not allow borders in the Middle East to be redrawn 'in blood'.
'It is vital for us to show more solidarity to end Israel's banditry – not only in Palestine but also in Syria, in Lebanon and in Iran,' he told the OIC gathering.
The 57-member OIC, founded in 1969, says its mission is to 'safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony'.Speaking before Erdogan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Israel of leading the Middle East towards 'total disaster' by attacking Iran.
'Israel is now leading the region to the brink of total disaster by attacking Iran, our neighbour,' he said. 'There is no Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, Yemeni or Iranian problem but there is clearly an Israeli problem.'
Al Jazeera's Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Istanbul, said Turkiye as the current OIC chair sees itself well-placed in helping to find a resolution to the Israel-Iran conflict.
'It is a NATO member country placed between the Western and Muslim worlds, and has strong bilateral relations with Iran, the Western world and the United States. And until a few years ago, it had strong relations with Israel,' she said.
On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country was only prepared to engage with the US if Israel stops its attacks on Iran.
'Iran is ready to consider diplomacy once again and once the aggression is stopped and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes committed,' said Araghchi.
'We support the continuation of discussion with [Britain, France, Germany and the EU] and express our readiness to meet again in the near future.'
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Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Netanyahu biggest obstacle to regional peace, says Erdogan at OIC meeting
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the 'biggest obstacle to regional peace' and that Israeli attacks on Iran right before a new round of nuclear talks with the United States aimed to sabotage the negotiations. Addressing Arab League diplomats during a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on Saturday, Erdogan urged countries with influence over Israel not to listen to its 'poison' and to seek a solution to the fighting via dialogue without allowing a wider conflict. Israeli attacks on Iran show that Netanyahu 'and his government … do not want any issues or any matters to be solved diplomatically,' said Erdogan. 'Netanyahu's Zionist ambitions have no other purpose than to drag our region and … the whole world into a big disaster,' he added. Erdogan accused the Western leaders of providing 'unconditional support' to Israel. He said Turkiye would not allow borders in the Middle East to be redrawn 'in blood'. 'It is vital for us to show more solidarity to end Israel's banditry – not only in Palestine but also in Syria, in Lebanon and in Iran,' he told the OIC gathering. The 57-member OIC, founded in 1969, says its mission is to 'safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony'.Speaking before Erdogan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accused Israel of leading the Middle East towards 'total disaster' by attacking Iran. 'Israel is now leading the region to the brink of total disaster by attacking Iran, our neighbour,' he said. 'There is no Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian, Yemeni or Iranian problem but there is clearly an Israeli problem.' Al Jazeera's Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Istanbul, said Turkiye as the current OIC chair sees itself well-placed in helping to find a resolution to the Israel-Iran conflict. 'It is a NATO member country placed between the Western and Muslim worlds, and has strong bilateral relations with Iran, the Western world and the United States. And until a few years ago, it had strong relations with Israel,' she said. On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country was only prepared to engage with the US if Israel stops its attacks on Iran. 'Iran is ready to consider diplomacy once again and once the aggression is stopped and the aggressor is held accountable for the crimes committed,' said Araghchi. 'We support the continuation of discussion with [Britain, France, Germany and the EU] and express our readiness to meet again in the near future.'
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Iran Issues New Grave Warning to Trump, U.S.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attends the 51st Meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 21, 2025. Credit - Serhat Cagdas—Getty Images Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Saturday that if the U.S. were to get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict, the result would be 'very, very dangerous' for everybody. 'The tweets, interviews by the U.S. President, [it's] quite clear that he's talking about the U.S. leadership on these questions [of a potential U.S. involvement],' Araghchi told reporters. 'Unfortunately, we have heard that the U.S. may join in this aggression. That would be very unfortunate and I think that would be very, very dangerous for everybody.' Araghchi also claimed that Iran has 'many indications' that the U.S. has been involved in Israel's bombardments of Iran since 'day one.' These remarks come amid uncertainty and debate as to the potential U.S. involvement in the conflict and what that might look like moving forward. Several U.S. Air Force B-2 bombers appeared to have taken off from the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri in the United States and were headed across the Pacific, according to reporting from the New York Times on Saturday citing flight tracker data. Military equipment is often moved from one base to another, and it's not always indicative of an impending strike. TIME has reached out to the White House for comment and further information. Trump, who has said that the U.S. has not been involved in the Israeli strikes thus far, has given himself two weeks to make the decision as to whether the U.S. will strike on Iran. 'Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks,' said Trump, in a statement delivered by the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday. Leavitt went on to add that 'if there's a chance for diplomacy, the President's always going to grab it, but he's not afraid to use strength as well.' The U.S. and Iran had long been engaged in talks, in the hope of reaching a nuclear deal. Read More: How Netanyahu Pushed Trump Toward War Officials from both countries were set to meet in Oman's capital of Muscat last weekend for the next round of nuclear discussions. But Oman's Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announced that, in light of the Israel-Iran active conflict, those talks would no longer be going ahead. This came after state television reported that Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei called nuclear talks with the U.S. 'meaningless.' While Trump has called for Iran to return to the table, Iranian officials appear to be reluctant. 'In order for us to come back to diplomacy, the aggression should be stopped,' Araghchi said on Saturday. 'I cannot go to negotiation with the United States when our people are under bombardment, under the support of the United States.' Trump has stated multiple times in the first months of his second term that a deal with Iran would have to include a ban on the nation enriching uranium—something that would allow them to produce nuclear weapons. He has also called for something more permanent than a cease-fire. 'We're looking for better than a cease-fire,' Trump told reporters on Air Force One on June 17 as he left the G7 summit. 'A real end, not a cease-fire. An end… giving up, entirely.' Trump later doubled down on his view of what Iran should do via a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, writing: 'UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!' Read More: Here Are the Top Iranian Generals and Scientists Targeted and Killed by Israeli Strikes However, Trump has delivered cryptic responses when asked exactly if and how the U.S. might get involved in the Middle Eastern conflict. On Wednesday, when asked if the U.S. is 'moving closer' to striking Iranian nuclear facilities, Trump said: 'I may do it, I may not do it, nobody knows what I'm going to do… I can tell you this. Iran's got a lot of trouble. They want to negotiate. I said, 'Why didn't you negotiate with me before? All this death and destruction.'' He later said in the Oval Office: "I like to make the final decision one second before it's due, because things change, especially with war.' Meanwhile, Araghchi's new warning is the latest in a long line of stern words and threats from Iranian officials in regards to a potential U.S. involvement in the current combat. Read More: Iran's Supreme Leader Calls Out Trump, Threatens 'Irreparable Damage' If U.S. Joins Israeli Conflict On Wednesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei threatened 'irreparable damage' if the U.S. joins the Israeli conflict. 'The Americans should know that any U.S. military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage,' Khamenei said in a televised address. 'The U.S. entering in this matter [war] is 100% to its own detriment. The damage it will suffer will be far greater than any harm that Iran may encounter.' The Israel-Iran conflict has entered its ninth day and shows no signs of slowing down. Israel's initial strikes on Iran, conducted in the early hours of June 13, targeted multiple nuclear and military sites, amid rising concerns of Iran's nuclear capabilities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strikes, part of Operation Rising Lion, 'would continue for as many days as it takes to remove this threat.' Iran followed through on its promise to retaliate, and the rivals have been trading deadly missiles and threats since, with the reported death tolls in both countries rising as a result. Contact us at letters@
Yahoo
11 hours ago
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Erdogan says he's 'optimistic victory will be Iran's' in blistering speech as strikes continue
As the conflict between Israel and Iran enters its ninth consecutive day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said he's "optimistic that victory will be Iran's" in a blistering speech at a gathering of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers in Istanbul. Erdogan accused Israel of sabotaging the nuclear talks between Iran and the US — which were ongoing when Israel first launched strikes last Friday, June 13 — adding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not want to "resolve issues through diplomatic means." He urged the diplomats at the OIC meeting to increase pressure on Israel on the basis of international law and UN resolutions. Erdogan's harsh rhetoric comes days before he's due to join a meeting of leaders of the NATO Alliance this week, including US President Donald Trump, who has dismissed a European-led effort to steer parties to the negotiating table. "Iran doesn't want to speak to Europe. They want to speak to us," Trump told reporters in New Jersey late on Friday. "Europe is not going to be able to help in this one." Meanwhile, Israel said its strikes had targeted Iran's nuclear site in Isfahan, and that it had killed three senior commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar said in an interview published in Germany's Bild newspaper on Saturday that Israel has already delayed Iran's nuclear programme by "at least two or three years." Euronews brings you rolling coverage and updates throughout the day.
