Israel's attacks in Lebanon and Gaza are pushing Iran to take "legitimate steps", Turkey's foreign minister said Saturday in a joint press conference in Istanbul with his Iranian counterpart. "Israel's aggressive stance is forcing Iran to take legitimate steps," Turkey's Hakan Fidan said alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "constantly opening new fronts in the region" and "trying to draw Iran into this war," he said. "The risk of war spreading to the entire region should not be underestimated."
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Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan shakes hands with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi in Istanbul on Saturday
(Photo: Dilara Senkaya / Reuters )
Iran backs the Hamas terror group in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, whose top leaders have been killed by Israel in the widening Middle East crisis.
Iran also backs Houthi rebels in Yemen and Shiite militias in Iraq, as well as Syria's armed forces. Tehran collectively calls these proxies and militias an "axis of resistance" against Israel.
On October 1, Iran launched a barrage of around 200 missiles in retaliation for the September 27 killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut and the July 31 killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Israel, which has vowed to strike back at Iran for that barrage, on Wednesday in Gaza killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the October 7 massacre that triggered the current war and escalating regional crisis. Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) have warned they would hit Israel "painfully" if it attacks Iranian targets.
Iran hosted naval drills on Saturday, with the participation of Russia and Oman and observed by nine other countries began in the Indian Ocean on Saturday, Iran's state TV said.
The exercises, dubbed "IMEX 2024", are aimed at boosting "collective security in the region, expand multilateral cooperation, and display the goodwill and capabilities to safeguard peace, friendship and maritime security", the English-language Press TV said.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, said anyone with information on Israel's pending strike on Iran is accountable. "Anybody with knowledge or understanding of 'how and when Israel was going to attack Iran', and/or providing the means and backing for such folly, should logically be held accountable for any possible causality," he said in a post on X referring to the U.S. after President Joe Biden said he has an understanding of how and when Israel was going to retaliate against missile attacks by Iran. He declined to elaborate.
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