Erdoğan slams Israel, Iran after Syria attack

“No one can tell what Israel will do and where. … Those who have treated Israel like a spoiled boy in particular can now expect anything from Israel at any time,” Erdoğan said in Ankara on Sunday before departing for a visit to the Czech Republic. “It is out of the question for us to approve Israel's attack. It should be condemned,” he added, repeating his accusations that Israel is carrying out “state terrorism.”

Israel launched an air strike inside Syria last Wednesday, reportedly targeting a convoy carrying anti-aircraft weapons bound for Hezbollah, the powerful Lebanese militant group allied with Syria and Iran. The Syrian military, however, denied that the target of the attack was a weapons convoy. It said low-flying Israeli jets crossed into the country over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and bombed a scientific research center.

Iran, a close ally of the internationally isolated Assad regime, has condemned the Israeli attack, calling it a clear violation of Syrian sovereignty. Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, said in a statement that "the Zionist regime will regret its aggression against Syria," while Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said the raid will have significant consequences for Israel.

Commenting on Iran's condemnation, Erdoğan said Iran should reconsider its Syria policy, which he said was not welcome in Ankara, and suggested that these policies might even be blamed for the Israeli attack.

“We can in no way approve of Israel's attack, but Iran should reconsider its Syria policies. The current situation between Israel and Syria might have never happened if Syria were not in its current state,” he said. “Given the current situation, I am worried that different developments might take place in the future.”

“We don't view it positively,” Erdoğan said of Iran's Syria policy. “60,000 people have been killed in Syria. … Iran remains silent while all these people are killed.”

Turkey downgraded its diplomatic relations and severed military ties after Israeli commandos killed eight Turks and a Turkish American on an aid ship that was trying to breach an Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip in May 2010. Ankara is also one of the most outspoken critics of the Assad regime and supports the opposition trying to topple his government.

When Israel attacked Syria, Ankara voiced criticism against both. Speaking on Friday, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu questioned whether Assad has a secret deal with Israel, noting that Assad is “exploiting” the attack to bolster support for his regime among Muslim countries.

“Why has the Syrian army, which has been attacking its own people with warplanes and tanks for 22 months, not responded to this Israeli operation?” Davutoğlu asked when speaking to a group of journalists en route to Serbia. “Why doesn't he [Assad] even throw a stone at the Israeli planes while they fly over his palace and insult his nation's honor? Why does he do nothing against Israel while he drops bombs on the innocent people of his country? Is there a secret agreement between Israel and Assad?”

Speaking at an international security conference in Munich, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he hoped ties with Turkey will be restored, saying Turkey, together with Egypt, is a country of key importance in the region. Tension between the two countries should be eased, especially at a time when the region faces such difficult problems, Barak said on Sunday.