Trump praises 'good friend of mine'

Erdogan: Israel’s strikes on Lebanon and Syria threaten Turkey

Turkish president says Israeli ‘aggression’ must be stopped, claims Jerusalem trying to destabilize Mideast and light ‘fire of discord’ in Cyprus; Netanyahu brands him ‘antisemitic dictator’

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Israel’s strikes in Syria and Lebanon have reached a point where they also threaten Turkey, adding that Israeli “aggression” poses a threat to the whole world and must be stopped.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit back by accusing the Turkish leader of being an “antisemitic dictator” unfit to criticize Israel, while US President Donald Trump hailed Erdogan as a “good friend of mine” but avoided commenting on his threats when asked about the matter by a reporter.

Israel says it is acting against the ongoing threat posed by the Hezbollah terror group in south Lebanon, and argues that the terms of the ceasefire there allow it to do so.

Israel has carried out strikes in Syria since the overthrow of former president Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 — most recently in March of this year — while also initiating unprecedented dialogue with the new authorities. It says the strikes were necessary to destroy the former regime’s military equipment and prevent it from falling into the hands of hostile elements.

Speaking to lawmakers in parliament, Erdogan also claimed there were initiatives led by Israel to destabilize the Mediterranean region and warned that “nobody should chase adventures” or join Israel’s “boat of mischief.”

“The attacks by [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his network of murder on Lebanon and Syria have brought the issue to a point where it also threatens Turkey,” Erdogan told lawmakers from his ruling AK Party in parliament, and added that Ankara’s security was tied to that of those two countries.

Erdogan also said Israel was leading a “sneaky effort” to destabilize African countries and the Mediterranean by igniting “the fire of discord” on the ethnically split island of Cyprus.

“These small entities, whose ambitions far exceed their size, have boarded Israel’s boat of mischief, taken on the role of Zionist subcontractors, and are pursuing some pipe dreams in the Eastern Mediterranean,” he said, without elaborating.

“Nobody should chase adventures… I want everyone to know that if the rights of Turkey and Turkish Cypriots are violated in the Eastern Mediterranean, our response will be very clear and very strong.”

It was unclear what Erdogan was referring to.

Erdogan urged world powers to take a clearer stance against Israel, saying the country was emboldened by the “silence of the international community.”

“Pulling Israel back to within the bounds of the rule of law has become a shared duty not just for certain countries, but for all of humanity,” he said.

NATO member Turkey, Iran’s neighbor, has blamed Israel’s “provocations” for starting the US-Iran war. The US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran at the end of February. Iran’s ally Hezbollah began attacking Israel days later, reigniting the conflict in Lebanon.

“The antisemitic dictator Erdogan, who is carrying out genocide against the Kurds, supports the Hamas terrorist organization, oppresses his own people, and imprisons political opponents, is the last person who can preach morality to Israel,” Netanyahu said in a Hebrew-language statement.

“Israel and the IDF, the most moral army in the world, will continue to act with strength against Iran and its proxies, which threaten the Middle East and the entire world,” he added.

Meeting Trump in the Oval Office, a reporter noted Erdogan’s comments and asked him whether he’s concerned about a confrontation between Jerusalem and Ankara, and whether he still plans to sell Turkey F-35 fighter jets.

“As you know, he’s a very good friend of mine, and we’ve worked very well together. I like him a lot,” Trump responded, avoiding any comment on Erdogan’s threats.

Trump told reporters that he hasn’t heard about Erdogan’s latest criticism of Israel but that if he did, he’d call the Turkish leader and make sure that “nothing would happen with Turkey.”

Some human rights groups and Western governments have long accused Turkey of repressing political opponents. Ankara has also faced criticism over its military campaigns against Kurdish groups in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, though it rejects allegations of genocide. Erdogan has openly supported Hamas, hosting some of its leaders. The president has praised the group’s terrorists as “freedom fighters” while condemning Israel, including by comparing it to Nazi Germany and likening Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.

On Saturday, Turkey’s interior minister said that his country will one day bring about the “liberation” of Jerusalem, vowing to restore Turkish control to the city that the Ottoman Empire ruled for hundreds of years.

Those comments drew a sharp rebuke from Israel, with the Foreign Ministry saying that the “Ottoman Empire is gone” and that Jerusalem “shall remain the eternal capital of Israel.”

Israel’s relations with Turkey, which were once the Jewish state’s strongest with any country in the region, have drastically deteriorated in recent years, and particularly since the start of the war sparked by the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack.

Erdogan has since been one of the most harshly critical foreign leaders of Israel, accusing Jerusalem of genocide and war crimes, welcoming ICC arrest warrants against Israeli leaders, and calling on the UN to recommend the use of force against Israel.

The country has also suspended trade with Israel, and Turkish airlines have stopped flying to Israel.