Iranian and Turkish presidents meet, condemn Israel’s self-defense against Hamas

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, blasted Israel for defending itself against the Iranian-supported terror organization Hamas. They made their statements during a top-level bilateral meeting in the Turkish capital Ankara.

The meeting is particularly noteworthy as Turkey is officially a NATO member while the Islamic regime of Iran is vehemently anti-Western in its political orientation.

Erdoğan, who has refused to condemn the Hamas for its massacre of more than 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7, blasted Israel’s response of self-defense as “inhumane.”

Erdoğan and Raisi were reportedly in agreement that Israel must “refrain from steps that will further threaten the security and stability of our region.”

However, the Iranian ayatollah regime has played a central role in fomenting regional violence and chaos through its terror proxies Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen, as well as other pro-Iranian terror militias in Syria and Iraq.

The Houthis in particular have in recent months dramatically increased their terror attacks against international shipping vessels in the strategically important Red Sea region.

Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for Research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), noted the strong global terror links between Ankara and Tehran, fueled radical Islamist ideology.

“The terror ties between the governments of Turkey and Iran are deep. Both governments harbor Hamas terrorists and support the group financially. Turkey also helped facilitate a $20 billion sanctions evasion scheme from 2012-2015. This collaboration is rooted in virulent Islamist ideology, which bridges the sectarian divide,” Schanzer assessed.

Iran's support for Hamas is in line with Tehran’s repeated calls to wipe the Jewish state off the map. By contrast, diplomatic relations between Turkey and Israel have gone through a series ups and downs.

Following years of strained ties, in September 2023, Erdoğan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The top-level meeting was reportedly to mark the beginning of newly-improved bilateral relations between the two nations.

However, the Oct. 7 massacre disrupted relations when Turkey refused to condemn Hamas' invasion and slaughter of civilians in southern Israeli communities.

Instead, the Turkish leader increasingly condemned the Jewish state for defending itself against the Hamas aggression. Erdoğan quickly and falsely accused Israel of “state terrorism,” “war crimes” and even “genocide,” while the IDF worked hard to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza.

In late December, Erdoğan's vitriolic statements hit a new low when the Turkish president falsely compared the Israeli government with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

"What is the difference between you (Netanyahu) and Hitler? How do the actions of the Netanyahu government differ from the actions of Hitler?" Erdoğan asked rhetorically.

Netanyahu responded by blasting Erdoğan at the time, accusing him of hypocrisy.

"Erdoğan, who is committing genocide against the Kurds and who holds the world record for imprisoning journalists who oppose his regime, is the last person who can preach morality to us," the Israeli premier stated.

Sinan Ciddi, a FDD non-resident senior fellow, stressed that Erdoğan's Turkey is no longer being taken seriously in Washington and Jerusalem due to Ankara’s strong ties to terrorism and radical Islam.

“Ankara has been trying to insert itself into the Gaza conflict as a power broker to facilitate a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. Its unwavering support for Hamas has ensured that Ankara is not taken seriously by Israel and the United States,” Ciddi said.