Istanbul, June 21, 2025: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addressing an emergency summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Saturday, declared unwavering support for Iran amid its ongoing confrontation with Israel, predicting that Tehran will emerge victorious in what he described as a historic struggle for regional justice and sovereignty.
Speaking at the OIC headquarters in Istanbul, Erdogan denounced the Israeli government under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “the greatest threat to peace and stability in the region,” likening Israel’s actions to those of Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler.
“We are confident that victory will be on Iran’s side,” Erdogan said. “Just as the spark ignited by Hitler 90 years ago set the world ablaze, Netanyahu’s Zionist ambitions today serve no purpose other than dragging the world into disaster.”
The Turkish leader strongly condemned Israel’s recent airstrikes on Iranian territory, labeling them a flagrant violation of international law and a dangerous escalation. “Iran has the full right to defend itself,” he asserted, affirming Türkiye’s solidarity with Tehran. “We have no doubt that, with its unity and deep-rooted state tradition, the Iranian people will overcome these difficult days.”
Erdogan also turned his attention to the war in Gaza, now entering its 21st month, accusing Israel of carrying out systematic attacks on civilians and weaponising hunger. “Two million of our brothers and sisters in Gaza are surviving under conditions worse than even the Nazi concentration camps,” he charged, calling the Israeli military campaign a humanitarian catastrophe.
Warning that Israel is actively seeking to expand the conflict beyond Gaza and Iran, Erdogan said, “Israel wants to set the entire region on fire. The Netanyahu government is the biggest obstacle to peace and stability.” He cited ongoing Israeli operations in the West Bank as further evidence of what he termed Tel Aviv’s wider regional ambitions. “The market of atrocities has heated up there as well,” he said.
He criticized the international community’s silence and called on world powers and Muslim-majority nations to take immediate and coordinated steps to stop the bloodshed. “I appeal to the international community to act urgently so that the conflict does not spread further,” he urged.
In a broader geopolitical context, Erdogan declared that Türkiye would not allow a “new Sykes-Picot order” to emerge in the Middle East — a reference to the colonial-era agreement that divided the region between European powers. “We will not permit a new map to be drawn in blood,” he warned.
Stressing the need for unity among Muslim nations, Erdogan emphasized that Istanbul and Tehran shared a “common destiny,” and called on the Islamic world to act as an independent center of global power. “We are on the threshold of an era where the Islamic world will play a much greater global role. But first, we must resolve our internal disputes. If we do not claim our issues with unity and will, we only serve others’ interests.”
The two-day emergency summit in Istanbul was convened in response to escalating Israeli strikes on both Iran and Gaza. Among key attendees were Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar.
Araqchi defended Iran’s right to self-defense, especially in light of Israeli attacks that occurred just days before planned nuclear negotiations. He said Iran could not engage in diplomatic talks “while under bombardment supported by the United States.”
OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha also condemned Israeli aggression against Iran and Gaza during the summit’s special session of the Council of Foreign Ministers. He called the attacks unacceptable and reiterated that, under United Nations resolutions, every sovereign nation retains the right to defend itself. He emphasized the urgent need for a peaceful resolution to avoid a broader regional war.
