President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Sunday he was saddened by the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in recent U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran.
"I was saddened to learn of the passing of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as a result of the attacks that took place yesterday," he said, his words relayed in a post on X, extending Türkiye's "sympathies" to the people of Iran.
Ankara has declared it does not side with any party to the conflict that broke out on Saturday, with Erdoğan holding phone calls with both President Donald Trump and Iranian leader Masoud Pezeshkian.
“We are concerned about the attacks that blatantly violated Iran’s sovereignty and threatened the peace of the brotherly people of Iran. At the same time, we find it unacceptable that Iran launched missile and drone attacks on brotherly countries in the Gulf, regardless of the reason,” Erdoğan said Saturday.
Iran vowed revenge Sunday after the killing of its supreme leader and traded strikes with Israel as part of a widening war prompted by a surprise U.S. and Israeli bombardment. The U.S. military said three service members have been killed, the first known American casualties from the conflict.
Iranian authorities say more than 200 people have been killed since the start of the strikes that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior leaders. Iran fired missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states in retaliation while Israel pledged "non-stop" strikes against Iran's leaders and military.
