Turkey's Erdogan condemns Netanyahu, calls him ‘addicted to war’
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that any lasting peace effort in the Middle East must involve the region’s countries, accusing Israel of trying to undermine the U.S.–Iran agreement brokered by Pakistan. Speaking in Istanbul alongside Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Erdogan said the Israeli government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, was “addicted to war” and must not be allowed to “choke the region again with the smell of gunpowder and blood.”
Erdogan also highlighted Turkey’s expanding partnership with Pakistan, covering energy, transport, critical minerals, information technology and defense, and noted a goal of raising bilateral trade to $5 billion. Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Turkish firms are ready to contribute to Pakistan’s power‑sector transformation. The remarks came after both leaders attended a business forum in Istanbul, and Ankara reiterated its condemnation of Israeli military actions in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.