Erdogan: Iran has the legitimate right to defend itself against Israeli banditry

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of unprovoked aggression against a number of neighboring countries and recognized Iran's right to self-defense against "banditry and state terrorism." He also believes that Israel is fueling protests in Turkey. Erdogan said this at a meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party, CNN Turkish reports .

According to Erdogan, Israel is "committing genocide" in Gaza, "killing civilians" in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and the West Bank, and has "extended its banditry" to Iran.

"I must say first of all: it is a completely natural, legitimate and lawful right of Iran to defend itself from this banditry by Israel, from this state terrorism," Erdogan said.

He accused international institutions and states, especially the United Nations, of tacitly condoning, and in some cases openly supporting, "Israeli aggression."

According to Erdogan, Turkey is doing "everything possible to stop the inhuman aggression" and will continue to do so.

He called on the countries of the region to act together against Israel.

"All countries in our region must learn the necessary lessons from these events. Joint measures must be taken against Israeli aggression and Israeli state terror in our region," Erdogan said.

Finally, he stated that Israel is behind Turkey's internal problems, including political confrontation.

"It has become much clearer that the discussions, disagreements and polarization that have been going on for decades in Turkey are caused by external dynamics. No coup was planned by patriotic hands," Erdogan said.

• On June 13, the Israel Defense Forces announced that it had carried out a "preemptive strike" on Iran's nuclear program facilities to prevent Tehran from obtaining weapons of mass destruction.
• The attack killed several top Iranian military officials, including IRGC Commander-in-Chief Salami.
• Netanyahu called on the citizens of Iran to overthrow the Islamic regime, which "has oppressed its own people for decades."