Turkey calls for restraint to avoid wider Middle East conflict

Turkey on Friday called on all sides to refrain from steps that could lead to a wider conflict in the Middle East, after Israel reportedly attacked Iran in a tit-for-tat retaliation for Iran's strike.

In a statement, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said the priority of the international community should be "to stop the massacre in Gaza and to ensure lasting peace" in the region by establishing a Palestinian state.

"It is becoming increasingly evident that the tensions that were initially caused by Israel's illegal attack on the Iranian Embassy in Damascus risk turning into a permanent conflict," it said. [Reuters]