Erdoğan pledges Türkiye as peace guarantor in Mideast

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has declared Türkiye's commitment to acting as a guarantor of peace amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

"Those who seek to profit from the tears of innocents will sooner or later understand how gravely they have made a mistake," Erdoğan said after a cabinet meeting on Aug. 5.

The president's remarks were delivered in a speech condemning Israel's attacks on Gaza. Regional tensions have surged after the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the Israeli killing of Hezbollah's military chief, Fuad Shukr, in Beirut.

In response, Iran and Tehran-backed armed groups have vowed revenge.

"A strong Türkiye will be a guarantor of peace in our region," Erdoğan said. "Our country, which has historically been a shelter for the oppressed, will maintain its quality of being a haven for the helpless."

Erdoğan criticized the "aggressive stance" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

"No matter what the bloodthirsty genocide network does, it will not be able to prevent Türkiye and the Turkish nation from showing solidarity with the Palestinian people," he said.

"Despite Hamas' constructive stance, the Netanyahu administration has repeatedly shown that it intends to continue its policy of massacre."

Türkiye is set to participate in the genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Aug. 7, joining proceedings initiated by South Africa, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced earlier in the day.

Ankara will submit a prepared file to support its intervention in the case, Fidan revealed during a press conference in Cairo.

"Türkiye stands by Palestine in these difficult days when it is struggling for...