Ankara: Trkiye’s stance regarding Iran is “clear,” said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, adding Trkiye is always on the side of peace, not war. Trkiye “stands for diplomacy, not conflict. It stands with peace and stability, not chaos and turmoil. It seeks rapprochement, not hostility,” Erdogan said during an event in the capital Ankara for iftar-the fast-breaking meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

According to Anadolu Agency, noting the country’s efforts for a ceasefire in Iran, Erdogan stated that Ankara is making “intensive efforts to ensure guns fall silent, a ceasefire is achieved, and talks resume.” He emphasized the urgency of the situation, saying, “We are trying to extinguish the fire before the flames grow larger, before the ring of fire spreads further, and before more lives are harmed and more blood is shed.”

Erdogan highlighted that Ankara cannot see others’ suffering as its own gain, and the country would not seek to benefit from others’ harm. “We want the tears in our region to stop, the conflicts to end, and peace and calm to prevail,” he stressed. He also criticized the Israeli administration’s actions, stating, “Even Israelis, spending nights in shelters, now say (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu is their biggest disaster since the Holocaust.”

The conflict in the region escalated when the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran on February 28. These strikes resulted in the deaths of more than 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as well as over 150 schoolgirls. In retaliation, Tehran has carried out drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and several Gulf countries hosting US military assets.