Foreign ministers from 57 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) are scheduled to gather in Istanbul between June 21 and 22 as the conflict between Iran and Israel rages on in the Middle East.
The 51st session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the international body will be hosted by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who will call for joint action against Israel’s “destabilizing acts,” according to Foreign Ministry sources quoted by Turkish media on Thursday.
The meeting’s theme is the state of the OIC in “a changing world,” befitting the current situation in the Middle East and elsewhere. As one conflict and emerging challenges follow another, countries continue to review their alignments and defense capabilities. The ongoing Iran-Israel conflict will likely dominate the agenda, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi is also expected to attend the meeting. Sources say the meeting will have the highest turnout compared to previous conventions of OIC representatives. More than 1,000 people are expected to participate, including representatives of OIC observer states, bureaucrats from OIC states and other international organizations that cooperate with the OIC. At the meeting, Türkiye will also take over the rotating chairpersonship of the Council of Foreign Ministers from Cameroon.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a staunch critic of the Israeli administration who hit out at Netanyahu again in a fervent speech on Wednesday, may also address the meeting, which will have a special session entirely devoted to Israel’s attacks on Iran. Arab League countries are also seeking an emergency meeting to discuss the conflict.
The OIC meeting is predicted to conclude with voting on draft decisions on the Istanbul Declaration and Gaza and Palestine, sources said. The Istanbul Declaration refers to a declaration adopted by the OIC in 2022 in the city to combat Islamophobia.
The ministers will discuss topics ranging from the latest situation in the Gaza Strip amid Israel’s ongoing attacks, efforts for rebuilding the enclave, steps to implement a two-state solution to Palestine-Israel conflict, the impact of Israel’s attacks on Iran on global, regional security and stability and improvement of cooperation in the face of challenges affecting Muslim societies.
Foreign Ministry sources said Fidan, in his address to the meeting, will highlight Türkiye’s commitment to prioritizing Palestine and challenges the Islamic world faced during its tenure as chair of the council, as well as pledges to improve the capacity and capabilities of OIC member states and the body itself.
He will also address the expansion of Israel’s devastating attacks across the region after Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, and reiterate Türkiye’s commitment to take every step to stop the escalation of the conflict.
OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha on Sunday condemned Israeli "aggression" against Iran in a phone call with the Iranian foreign minister.
Taha expressed "grave concern" over the recent Israeli attacks against Iran, condemning the military "aggression in the strongest terms," Iran's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. He emphasized the OIC's commitment to mobilizing international support through the organization and coordination with the U.N. to address "this blatant violation" of international law and prevent the "alarming escalation" of tension and insecurity in the region. Araghchi, for his part, expressed appreciation for Taha and called for a collective response by Islamic countries to confront Israel's "mounting lawlessness and aggression" against regional states. He added that Israel's "overt violations of international law and the U.N. Charter, its brazen threat to regional and international peace and security, and its acts of killing Iranian civilians and university professors alongside assaults on Iran's nuclear facilities once again underscore the reality that the regime's impunity only encourages further crimes and aggression," the ministry said.
At the meeting, Türkiye will also reiterate its stand on the Palestine-Israel conflict and the wider conflict in the region, pointing out that a two-state solution to the conflict is the only way to resolve tensions. Fidan will emphasize that the Palestinian cause is the raison d’etre of the OIC.
On Syria, Fidan will urge OIC countries to work together for a stable and prosperous Syria, support for the post-Assad country’s territorial integrity and efforts for the recovery of Türkiye’s southern neighbor.
On the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Fidan, whose country acts as a guarantor state, will call on all Muslim countries to support the rights of Turkish Cypriots and contact them, citing the TRNC’s status as an observer member of the OIC and the fact that Cyprus is home to two peoples and two states. He will also underline the need for the OIC to exert efforts against violations of the Turkish Muslim community in Greece’s Western Thrace and the Turkish population living in the Greek islands.
On Islamophobia, Fidan will highlight the rapid rise of the phenomenon and urge the OIC to act as “one voice” for the elimination of acts of discrimination and intolerance toward Muslim societies across the world.
As the conflict prevailed, countries mobilized to evacuate their citizens from Iran. The EU has received significant support from Türkiye in facilitating the evacuation of EU citizens from Iran amid escalation between Tel Aviv and Tehran, an EU official said on Thursday.
Christian Berger, director of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Crisis Response Center, praised Türkiye's role in enabling smooth land crossings and onward travel.
"We have had great support from the Turkish authorities to make sure that people can cross easily and then get connecting flights from the eastern part of the country to the international airport," he told reporters in Brussels.
Due to the absence of an EU delegation in Tehran, Berger said the bloc has faced limitations on the ground and is relying on coordination led by the rotating EU presidency, currently held by Poland.
"We are a little bit handicapped in Iran because we have no delegation in Tehran," he said.
Over the past three days, several evacuation convoys have successfully crossed land borders into Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkmenistan, he noted, without providing an exact number of evacuees.
