Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said “urgent action” was needed to prevent the Iran-Israel conflict engulfing the Middle East, in a call with US counterpart Donald Trump yesterday.“President Erdogan hailed the recent comments by US President Trump concerning a resolution of the conflict between Israel and Iran… and stressed that urgent action is needed to prevent a catastrophe that could enflame the whole region,” the Turkish presidency said in a statement.During the call — the two leaders’ second in 24 hours — Erdogan said the “spiral of violence unleashed by Israel’s attacks on Iran have caused irreparable economic and civil damage to both sides” and called for moves to “halt this dangerous escalation”, it said. Erdogan also told Trump — who said yesterday he would be “open” to Russian President Vladimir Putin acting as a mediator in the conflict — that he would also be ready to “play a role as facilitator”.
