Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday warned that escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran could trigger a “devastating war” and a new wave of regional migration, as he held calls with leaders across the Middle East and South Asia.
Erdoğan told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that Israel was attempting “to drag the whole region into the fire,” according to a statement released by the Turkish presidency.
His remarks came as Israel and Iran traded deadly barrages of missiles and drones in the most intense confrontation between the two countries to date, prompting global fears of a regional conflict.
Speaking to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Erdoğan said the region “cannot tolerate another crisis” and warned that war could generate “waves of irregular migration towards all the countries in the region.”
Turkey currently hosts more than 3 million Syrian refugees, as well as thousands of Iranians, and has seen increasing domestic tension over the long-term presence of foreign nationals.
Erdoğan also said Israel needed “to be stopped,” calling it “the main threat to stability and security in the region,” the statement said.
He emphasized that Iran’s nuclear program “can only be resolved through negotiations,” underscoring Turkey’s opposition to military confrontation.
“The fact that the international community has closed its eyes to the occupation and genocide in Palestine has led Israel to this level of flouting the law and its aggression,” Erdoğan was quoted as saying.
In addition to calls with the Iranian and Saudi leaders, Erdoğan also spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on X that he also spoke with Erdoğan. The two leaders agreed that “Israel’s unprovoked aggression against Iran” was “a blatant violation of international law and a threat to regional peace.”
On Friday Israel launched a large-scale missile attack on Iran, reportedly killing dozens of military commanders, nuclear scientists and senior government officials. Iran said 78 people were killed in the strikes.
In retaliation Iran fired a barrage of drones and ballistic missiles at Israeli cities, killing three and injuring more than 70, according to Israeli authorities.
The United Nations Security Council is set to convene an emergency meeting, while international mediators scramble to prevent further escalation.
© Agence France-Presse