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Iran Summons Turkish Ambassador over Erdogan Remarks

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan arrives at a military parade to mark the victory on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in Baku, Azerbaijan December 10, 2020. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan arrives at a military parade to mark the victory on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in Baku, Azerbaijan December 10, 2020. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS
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Iran Summons Turkish Ambassador over Erdogan Remarks

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan arrives at a military parade to mark the victory on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in Baku, Azerbaijan December 10, 2020. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan arrives at a military parade to mark the victory on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in Baku, Azerbaijan December 10, 2020. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS

Iran on Friday summoned Turkey’s ambassador to Tehran over the Turkish president’s remarks during a visit to Baku, Azerbaijan, which Iran deemed offensive and said support a secession of Azeri ethnic parts of Iran.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said Turkish Ambassador Derya Ors was summoned following Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s “meddlesome and unacceptable” remarks in Baku on Thursday. The official IRNA news agency said Iran has asked Turkey's government for an immediate explanation.

During the visit to Baku, Erdogan attended a parade to celebrate a recent cease-fire agreement that allowed Azerbaijan to reclaim control over broad swathes of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding lands in a conflict with Armenia.

Iran, which borders all three countries, had stayed out of the decades-old conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia and when fighting reignited in September, Tehran urged both sides to seek a peaceful solution.

At the Baku parade, Erdogan, who strongly backs Azerbaijan, reportedly read parts of a poem about how a border tore apart ancient Azeri, or Azerbaijani, lands “by force." It refers to the separation of Azerbaijan between Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan following the Treaty of Turkmenchay in 1828.

Iran's three northwestern provinces — West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan and Ardabil — have a predominantly ethnic Azeri population.

Mohsen Pakaeen, Iran's former ambassador to Baku, said such remarks could harm relations between Azerbaijan and Iran.

“The relations between Tehran and Baku are in very good shape now, but Erdogan’s remarks could raise a series of historical and controversial issues between the two countries,” The Associated Press quoted Pakaeen as saying.

IRNA reported that Pakaeen said the Turkish president was trying to spread pan-Turkism, a political movement dating back to the 1880s.

Iran's foreign ministry said “the era of claiming lands and warmongering empires has long ended,” a reference to the Ottoman Empire.

Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also criticized Erdogan's remarks in a tweet: “Didn’t he realize that he was undermining the sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan? NO ONE can talk about OUR beloved Azerbaijan.”.

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World

Israel Defense Minister Slams Eisenkot’s Call for Military to Resist PM Pressure

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz attend a graduation ceremony of new Israeli army officers at a base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 21, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz attend a graduation ceremony of new Israeli army officers at a base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 21, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israel Defense Minister Slams Eisenkot’s Call for Military to Resist PM Pressure

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz attend a graduation ceremony of new Israeli army officers at a base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 21, 2026. (Reuters)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz attend a graduation ceremony of new Israeli army officers at a base near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel, October 21, 2026. (Reuters)

Israel's defense minister on Wednesday denounced opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot for urging the military to resist post-election pressure from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has threatened new strikes on Iran.

"His call to senior military officials not to obey the directives of the prime minister or me or of other relevant security authorities, on the grounds that 'they have his support', is an anti-democratic statement detached from reality," Israel Katz wrote on X.

Eisenkot, a former military chief, in a speech to supporters after Tuesday's election said that Netanyahu was a caretaker prime minister lacking a mandate and that the military should serve the state rather than the premier.

"Stand firm in the face of any attempt to challenge you. You have my unequivocal backing. Netanyahu, do not dare use Israel's security for your political needs," Eisenkot said.

Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened renewed war on Iran, after bombing campaigns backed by the United States last year and again this year.

Media reports, denied by Netanyahu, said that military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir pushed back immediately before the election on the prime minister's new plans on Iran.

Katz said that Eisenkot's comments were the latest in "a campaign of lies" about tensions between Netanyahu and the military over Iran.

World

Caretaker Role Could Limit Netanyahu but Not Rule Out War with Iran

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses his supporters at the election night rally after the first exit polls were announced, in Jerusalem on early October 28, 2026, during Israel's legislative elections. (AFP)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses his supporters at the election night rally after the first exit polls were announced, in Jerusalem on early October 28, 2026, during Israel's legislative elections. (AFP)
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Caretaker Role Could Limit Netanyahu but Not Rule Out War with Iran

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses his supporters at the election night rally after the first exit polls were announced, in Jerusalem on early October 28, 2026, during Israel's legislative elections. (AFP)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses his supporters at the election night rally after the first exit polls were announced, in Jerusalem on early October 28, 2026, during Israel's legislative elections. (AFP)

Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to face more constraints as Israel's caretaker prime minister after Tuesday's election, but experts say his government could still retain significant powers including when it comes to waging war on Iran.

Neither Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition nor an opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot is projected by Israeli media ‌to win ‌a majority in the country’s 120-seat legislature. Eisenkot has ‌acknowledged ⁠the prime minister ⁠was still in office as a caretaker but issued a warning that Netanyahu might use security for political ends.

Netanyahu's office has previously rejected accusations he is using the Iran conflict for political gain. His office did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday.

“If you look at the letter of the law, a caretaker government has the ⁠same authority, has the same powers as a regular ‌government,” said Guy Lurie, a research ‌fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, adding however that a caretaker government “has a duty ‌of restraint” and more limited discretion to act in some areas.

A ‌caretaker government faces limitations when it comes to issues such as appointments, but has leeway to act in matters where there is a public interest, analysts say.

“In general, security issues are the clearest exception to this duty of ‌restraint,” said Or Asher, a researcher at the Tel Aviv-based Tachlith Institute, noting that Israel's supreme court has ⁠previously held ⁠that a caretaker government must avoid far-reaching decisions unless they are justified by a pressing necessity.

“The Supreme Court has historically avoided intervening in decisions to go to war, and parliamentary oversight is at its thinnest in the weeks after the new Knesset convenes and before its committees are formed,” Asher said, adding that “a caretaker prime minister can legally take Israel to war, including against Iran”.

After the final tally is in, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog is expected to consult party leaders and then tap the candidate he believes has the best chance of forming a government, with the nominee then getting up to 42 days to establish a government.

World

Iran Warns Any Israeli-led Attack Would be 'Devastating' for Global Markets

FILED - 25 September 2026, US, Bronx: FILE PHOTO - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivers a statement during a press conference at Security Council encounter at UN Headquarters in New York. Photo: Lev Radin/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
FILED - 25 September 2026, US, Bronx: FILE PHOTO - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivers a statement during a press conference at Security Council encounter at UN Headquarters in New York. Photo: Lev Radin/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Iran Warns Any Israeli-led Attack Would be 'Devastating' for Global Markets

FILED - 25 September 2026, US, Bronx: FILE PHOTO - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivers a statement during a press conference at Security Council encounter at UN Headquarters in New York. Photo: Lev Radin/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
FILED - 25 September 2026, US, Bronx: FILE PHOTO - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivers a statement during a press conference at Security Council encounter at UN Headquarters in New York. Photo: Lev Radin/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Wednesday that any Israel-instigated attack would have a "devastating impact" on global markets.

"Devastating impact on int'l markets of any Israel-instigated military misadventure” in the Arabian Gulf region “remains major concern for both gas suppliers and consumers," Araghchi said in a post on X.

His post came as Qatari mediators presented Iran with a new draft deal on Sunday to end the war with the US and Israel, and Tehran is expected to send a response to the draft by the end of the week, an official briefed on the negotiations said on Wednesday.

The new draft being considered by Iran sets a seven-day timeline addressing both Tehran's and Washington's concerns, laying out daily confidence-building ⁠steps that each ⁠side must take, the official said.

The timeline could begin early next week and several countries would act as guarantors of the deal, the official added.

Qatar, along with Pakistan, has led mediation to end the war that the ⁠US and Israel launched in February. The conflict has disrupted global shipping and oil supplies and spilled over across other parts of the Middle East.