Erdogan backs Iranian response to Israel

Tehran has a legal right to defend itself from West Jerusalem’s “banditry and state terrorism,” the Turkish president has said

Iran has a legitimate right to respond to Israel’s attacks, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, accusing West Jerusalem of engaging in “banditry and state terrorism.” 

He also compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.

Israel began bombing Iran on Friday, claiming Tehran is nearing the completion of a nuclear bomb. Iran dismissed the accusations and retaliated to the Israeli military operation with waves of drone and missile strikes on the Jewish state.

“It is entirely natural, legitimate, and lawful for Iran to defend itself against Israel’s banditry and state terrorism,” Erdogan stated on Wednesday during a parliamentary group meeting in Ankara.

The Turkish president strongly criticized Israel’s leadership for its acts of aggression, claiming that Netanyahu has “long surpassed the tyrant Hitler in the crime of genocide.” 

He also condemned the global inaction over Israel’s aggression in Gaza, seen by the UN rights committee as characteristic of genocide, stating that “the blood of massacred civilians, murdered babies, and children is splattered not only on the hands and faces of those who support Israel’s arrogance, but also on those who remain silent.”

Türkiye is doing “everything we can” to stop what he called “inhumane aggression” not only against Iran, but also Gaza, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, Erdogan insisted. 

“Stopping Israel’s aggression is essential for the world and humanity,” he said.

Ankara is staying vigilant and “closely monitoring Israel’s terrorist attacks on Iran,” he said.

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The government is committed to safeguarding the country’s interests, peace and security and is prepared for “every possible negative development and scenario.”

Russia has condemned the Israeli campaign as illegal and warned that strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure could trigger a “nuclear catastrophe.” In a statement on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Israel’s attacks on peaceful atomic sites violate international law and threaten global stability.

US President Donald Trump, however, has backed Israel and demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender.” 

On Tuesday, he claimed that American forces and allies have achieved “complete and total control of the skies over Iran,” and said the US knew the location of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling him an “easy target.”