The US needs to 'tighten Israel's leash,' says Turkish foreign minister

During a visit to Egypt, Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan strongly criticised Israel and the United States at a joint press conference with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty:

"Israel initiates violence, and then they come to Egypt, they come to us, asking us to tell them not to go to war. Fine," said Fidan.

"Then Israel targets the Iranian embassy in Damascus, and again, they turn to us, to Egypt, asking for intervention to reduce escalation. Now, Israel has martyred the leader of Hamas, and once more, they come to us with the same request," he added.

"Friends, this is no longer a sustainable pattern. We are no longer playing this game. America's attempts to clean up behind the scenes and mitigate every wrongdoing by Israel have become unacceptable. Israel's owners must now take its leash and protect it. The region can no longer tolerate continued Israeli provocations," said Fidan.