The war in Gaza was at the top of the agenda when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi met in Ankara.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi’s visit to Ankara that he and his Iranian counterpart agreed to avoid any actions that could threaten stability in the Middle East.
Speaking at a press conference after their meeting on Wednesday, Erdogan said the two leaders discussed an end to Israel’s “inhumane” attacks on Gaza and the need for a just and lasting peace in the region.
“We agreed on the importance of refraining from actions that further undermine regional security and stability,” he said, adding that they also agreed to continue cooperation against cross-border threats.
Al Jazeera’s Sinem Koceoglu, reporting from Ankara, said the main topic of the meeting was Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza.
“No one expects the two leaders to stop what is happening in Gaza, but at the very least their aim is to contain the escalation of the growing crisis in the region, particularly in Yemen and the Red Sea region,” Koceoglu said.
“President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said they were committed to fighting terrorism,” she added.
Turkey, which has been a vocal critic of Israel’s attacks on Gaza, has called for an immediate ceasefire and supports legal action to try Israel for genocide.
However, Ankara maintains commercial ties with Israel, drawing criticism both at home and abroad.
Palestinians wait at a hospital to collect the bodies of their relatives killed in Israeli bombings in the Rafah town in the southern Gaza Strip. Israel has killed more than 25,700 Palestinians since October 7. [File: AFP]
Iran leads what it calls the “Axis of Resistance” that includes Hamas, Yemen’s Houthi rebels and other Shiite Islamic groups in the region that are in conflict with Israel and its Western allies.
In a sign that the war on Gaza could have wider repercussions, the United States and Britain struck targets in Yemen in retaliation for Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea.
The Houthis say the attacks in the busy waterway were aimed at ships linked to Israel and will continue as long as the war on Gaza continues.
Erdogan condemned the US and UK attacks on Yemen, describing it as a disproportionate use of force.
Raisi accused the United States of supporting Israel’s crimes against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and repeatedly called on Islamic countries to sever ties with the “Zionist regime.”
“What is happening in Palestine and Gaza is a crime against humanity … and the United States and Western countries are supporting these crimes,” he said Wednesday.
“Severing economic and political ties with this regime can certainly have an impact on putting an end to the Zionist regime’s crimes.”
Turkey and Iran have a complicated relationship due to several issues, including the Syrian civil war.
Ankara-backed rebels are trying to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose government is backed by Tehran.
Turkey has recently taken steps to improve its relations with Damascus.
