Turkey criticises Iran's attacks on Saudi Arabia and other Arab states: 'a very wrong strategy'

The Turkish government has spoken out on Iran’s attacks on Arab states. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that Iran’s strikes on Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, in retaliation for attacks by the United States and Israel on its territory, are ‘a very wrong strategy’. Fidan described Iran’s indiscriminate bombardment of Arab countries hosting U.S. military assets as having increased instability in the Middle East. ‘The indiscriminate bombing carried out by Iran in all these places is a very wrong strategy,’ Fidan told state broadcaster TRT Haber, citing Reuters and Al Arabiya, on Wednesday, 4 March 2026. He stated that Iran’s strategy appears to be designed to signal that: ‘If I sink, I will sink the region as well.’ According to Fidan, the Arab states attacked by Iran may not be able to stay silent if the attacks continue. He warned that the risk of further escalation of the conflict is deeply concerning. Furthermore, Fidan said that the new leadership in Iran, once elected and formed, could provide an opportunity to end the war with the U.S. and Israel. He reminded that any compromise that may be needed would be preferable to prolonging the war. Fidan added that he hopes the new Iranian leadership will ‘show a willingness’ to end the conflict. The U.S. and Israel have launched waves of coordinated strikes against Iran since Saturday, 28 February. In the following days, the two allied forces attacked targets across Iran, including missile facilities, the navy, and military command-and-control sites. The wave of attacks killed several senior Iranian figures and high-ranking officials, including the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The latest report from the Iranian Red Crescent Society states that so far at least 787 people have died as a result of the US-Israel strikes. The IRCS says the US-Israel coalition has launched more than 1,000 air strikes since Saturday, 28 February local time. The wave of attacks, the IRCS said, struck 153 cities and more than 500 locations across Iran. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes against targets in Israel and U.S. bases in Gulf states. Tehran also claimed that at least 560 U.S. troops were killed and wounded as a result of the retaliatory strikes. However, the United States has so far confirmed at least four of its troops killed as a result of Iran’s retaliation.