Erdogan warns Israel not to derail US-Iran deal amid regional peace push
Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that Israel must not be allowed to undermine a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran. Speaking in Istanbul on Saturday alongside Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he said regional peace efforts could not succeed without the backing of countries in the area. Erdogan said the agreement should not be allowed to be "dynamited" and argued that lasting solutions must draw strength from regional will and contributions.
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Erdogan said his government was closely following what he described as attempts by the Israeli administration to derail the deal. He also repeated his criticism of Israel's military actions in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. In his remarks, he said the current Israeli government should not be allowed to "drown our geography in the smell of gunpowder and blood again", framing the issue as one with wider regional consequences.
The comments come after delegations from the United States and Iran held indirect talks in Qatar last week to advance negotiations following recent exchanges of fire. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran would establish a communication channel with Washington to report breaches of the memorandum of understanding. The deal, brokered by Qatar and Pakistan, includes a 60-day ceasefire, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, an agreement on Iran's nuclear programme and a timetable for a final settlement intended to end the war permanently.
The statement matters because the talks are taking place against a backdrop of continuing military tension and competing regional interests. Any agreement involving a ceasefire, maritime access through the Strait of Hormuz and nuclear-related commitments would have implications well beyond the two countries directly involved. The Strait of Hormuz is a critical shipping route, and any disruption there can affect energy flows and wider trade.
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Erdogan's intervention also underlines Turkiye's effort to position itself as a regional voice on conflict and diplomacy. His remarks alongside Sharif suggest coordination between Ankara and Islamabad on the broader diplomatic track. The reference to regional backing reflects a recurring theme in Middle East diplomacy: that external agreements are harder to sustain without support from neighbouring states and other influential actors.
What remains unclear is how durable the memorandum of understanding will prove after the latest exchanges of fire and the competing interpretations of its terms. It is also not clear how far the communication channel proposed by Tehran will reduce the risk of further breaches. The next developments to watch are whether the indirect talks continue, whether the ceasefire terms hold, and whether regional governments publicly line up behind the agreement.
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