Leading Turkish official Fuat Oktay this week called for the dismantling of Israel’s alleged nuclear weapons stockpile. The head of parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee said Israel’s nuclear capability should be “eliminated as soon as possible”.
Addressing the committee on Wednesday, he said Israel had launched a war on Iran over the latter’s nuclear ambitions, while itself maintaining a significant - albeit undeclared - nuclear arsenal.
For decades, Israel has pursued a policy it describes as “strategic ambiguity,” neither confirming nor denying the existence of a nuclear weapons programme.
Israeli officials say this policy provides a credible deterrent and contributes to regional stability. Successive governments have maintained that Israel would not be the first state in the region to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East.
Addressing the Foreign Affairs Committee, Oktay also warned that the Israeli-U.S. war on Iran - now in its second month - had expanded beyond its initial scope, affecting Iraq, Lebanon and the Arab Gulf states.
He said the ongoing partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz had disrupted trade and energy transit, adversely affecting the global economy.
“Although it is Israel’s war, the entire world is paying the price,” he said, adding that Israeli-U.S. military strikes on Iran lacked legitimacy under international law.
While Oktay acknowledged Tehran’s right to self-defence, he also criticised Iranian strikes on civilian infrastructure in neighbouring states, describing them as “unacceptable.”
Addressing lawmakers on the same day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also criticised Israel, describing it as the “main party” behind what he called an “unlawful war”.
He said the ongoing conflict - and Israel’s leading role in it - “has not only turned our region into a burning ground, but also placed an economic burden on all humanity”.
Türkiye, Erdoğan added, is “determined to stay away from this fire.”
The U.S. military is redirecting at least three Iranian-flagged tankers after intercepting them in Asian w...
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards targeted three vessels, seizing two of them for alleged maritime violations and transferring them to Iranian shor...
Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said on 22 April that oil transit from Kazakhstan to Germany...
Georgia’s relationship with Europe is facing one of its most serious tests in years, as two major international reports warn of democratic ba...
A senior European Parliament figure has criticised remarks by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggesting Turkish influence could...
The U.S. military is redirecting at least three Iranian-flagged tankers after intercepting them in Asian waters near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, shipping and security sources said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Tehran said U.S. breaches, blockades and threats are undermining “genuine negotiations.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards targeted three vessels, seizing two of them for alleged maritime violations and transferring them to Iranian shores, as U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington is extending its ceasefire with Iran until Tehran submits a proposal.
Georgia’s relationship with Europe is facing one of its most serious tests in years, as two major international reports warn of democratic backsliding and growing human rights concerns.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) warns that nearly four million people have returned to Sudan in recent months, hoping to rebuild their lives, but without urgent investment in basic services and infrastructure, these returns risk becoming unsustainable.
The architect of the modern K-pop boom, Bang Si-hyuk, is facing arrest by South Korean police over claims he illegally gained millions in an investor fraud scheme.
Pakistan is confident it can bring Iran to talks with the United States, a senior official said, citing “positive signals” from Tehran, as JD Vance is reportedly set to visit Islamabad on Tuesday for peace talks, according to Axios.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards targeted three vessels, seizing two of them for alleged maritime violations and transferring them to Iranian shores, as U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington is extending its ceasefire with Iran until Tehran submits a proposal.
A gunman who killed seven people in a mass shooting in Kyiv on Saturday (18 April) had quarrelled with his neighbour before he opened fire on passersby, public broadcaster Suspilne cited Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko as saying on Tuesday.
Jars of baby food deliberately tampered with rat poison and discovered in Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia were part of an attempted extortion plot targeting manufacturer HiPP, German police said on Monday.
Kazakhstan’s Energy Minister Yerlan Akkenzhenov said on 22 April that oil transit from Kazakhstan to Germany via Russia could drop to zero in May, citing unofficial information and pointing to possible technical constraints on the Russian side.
Georgia’s relationship with Europe is facing one of its most serious tests in years, as two major international reports warn of democratic backsliding and growing human rights concerns.
A senior European Parliament figure has criticised remarks by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen suggesting Turkish influence could threaten Europe.
Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs’ visit to Azerbaijan on 22 April highlighted expanding cooperation in energy, trade and transport, as Europe faces supply chain pressures and the South Caucasus gains renewed geopolitical importance.
Afghanistan’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, used a visit to Uzbekistan to press for easier trade and transit, focusing on boosting exports, establishing an export centre in Balkh, and strengthening regional economic ties.
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