Iran, Turkey convene regional conference over Israel-Hamas war

Turkey and Iran on Wednesday summoned the regional conference aimed at discussing the risks of the Israel and Hamas war spreading into a broader regional conflict for the Middle East. "We do not want the human tragedy in Gaza to turn into a war that affects the region's countries," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told a joint media appearance with Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. Iran, meanwhile, requested for the meeting to be held "as soon as possible” in order to bring the spiralling situation in the Middle East region under control.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian to pay visit to Turkey

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is expected to pay the visit to Turkey later in the day. Both sides have agreed to discuss the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, strengthened bilateral ties and other regional developments, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on November 1.

The emergency regional meeting was called as hostilities intensified with the drone attacks launched toward Israel’s southern city of Eilat in retaliation for Tel Aviv’s ground operation to eliminate the terrorist organisation Hamas. Israeli military said that it intercepted drones and missiles that were launched from the Red Sea area towards Israeli territory. The Turkey and Iran dialogue shows that the two nations, both who have been coal in their support for Hamas, want to prioritize deterring any escalations, particularly in Syria where Turkish military fights the PKK/YPG.

Earlier yesterday, Iranian foreign minister also met with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Doha to discuss the Palestine Israel war. Qatar has been donning a mediatory role in negotiate between Israel and Hamas, that includes the release of hostages. In a televised interview with the American broadasters, Amir-Abdollahian warned that he fears war might escalate if Israel continued its operation, adding that Iran does not want the war “to spread out.” Both Iran and Turkey, who do not consider Hamas as a terrorist organisation, pushed for a ceasefire in Gaza, a demand rejected by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Regional tensions have flared after Turkey’s Foreign Ministry condemned Israel’s bombing of the Turkish Plaestine friendship hospital, the only cancer hospital in Gaza built with Turkish funding. Ankara strongly reacted to the extensive damages caused from the bombing.  “As all necessary information, including the coordinates of the institution in question — which is the only cancer hospital in Gaza — was shared with the Israeli authorities in advance, there is no explanation for such an attack,” the ministry said in a statement.

In a harsh rhetoric, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Israel against provoking the regional allies. “Israel, with the unconditional support of Europe and America, has for the past 25 days been committing crimes against humanity before the eyes of the entire world,” Erdogan said after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. “Yesterday the Friendship Hospital that was our gift to our Gazan brethren was targeted by Israeli forces,” making it “the latest victim of Israel’s barbarity,” he added.