Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has launched another sharp attack on Israel, accusing it of trying to undermine efforts to reduce tensions in the Middle East following the recent crisis involving Iran.

Speaking at a meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP, Erdoğan also praised the way his government had handled Turkey’s foreign policy during the regional escalation.

“In the recent crisis with Iran, we had the opportunity to see once again the high level that Turkey and Turkish foreign policy have reached,” Erdoğan said.

“With a policy centred on reason, prudence and justice, we kept our country out of this cycle of violence. Despite various challenges, we did not allow a single drop of blood to be shed. We did not accept Israel’s schemes aimed at stirring up new cauldrons of discord in our region,” he added.

The Turkish president said the crisis had shown “how powerful a state the Republic of Turkey is” and had confirmed, once again, that the country was being led by “experienced, trustworthy and capable officials.”

Turkey says it helped prevent further escalation

Erdoğan said his government had helped manage “one of the most dangerous conflicts since the Second World War” through what he described as the prudent policies of his party and its coalition partners.

During this period, he said, Turkish institutions, particularly the country’s diplomatic and security services, had made major efforts to prevent the situation from deteriorating.

“Sometimes through behind-the-scenes diplomacy, sometimes through direct interventions and sometimes by preventing disputes from escalating, we contributed to the negotiation process,” he said.

Erdoğan warned, however, that the region had now entered “an even more sensitive phase,” claiming that Israel would not tolerate “even the slightest possibility of peace.”

“Statements made over the past 10 days show that we are not dealing with a rational state, but with a group of radicals who have lost control,” he said.

He also accused Israel of trying to damage the agreement reached between the United States and Iran, saying Israeli officials were competing with one another over who could take the hardest line.

Erdoğan says peace will come despite Israel

“An uncontrolled mob competing for extreme positions has no desire whatsoever to see a ceasefire in our region,” Erdoğan said.

He described Israel as “a network that believes its own security depends on the instability of everyone else” and accused it of turning occupation and violence into state policy.

According to Erdoğan, Israel had spent the past 10 days trying to undermine agreements that had been reached with great effort.

“They will continue to take every possible action until they achieve their goal,” he said.

“If there is peace in our region, it will be in spite of Israel. If there is stability, it will be in spite of Israel’s actions,” the Turkish president added.

Erdoğan said Turkey would continue to support efforts to secure a lasting solution to the crisis with Iran.

“No matter what this mechanism of violence does, it will not be able, with God’s help, to prevent the prevalence of peace, justice, stability and prosperity,” he said.

“As Turkey, we will not hesitate to do our part to ensure peace, even at the most minimal level possible. We will continue to support every effort toward a lasting solution to the crisis with Iran.”