Erdogan would have gone to war on behalf of Iran, I stopped him: Trump

US President Donald Trump claimed that he asked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to refrain from participating in a war on behalf of Iran and that Erdogan accepted his request.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Wednesday (June 24), Trump said, “He (Erdogan) was one of the leaders who would have joined the war on behalf of Iran, because he is not a big supporter of Israel.”

“I told him to stay away. He stayed away. Erdogan is a great leader, a very strong man. He did what I asked of him,” Trump told reporters.

According to the Times of Israel, Trump’s comments came at a time when Erdogan and top Turkish officials have been making increasingly harsh statements against Israel in recent times. Earlier this month, Turkey’s interior minister called for Jerusalem to be “liberated.”

A few days later, Erdogan claimed that Israel's "aggression" was a threat not only to Palestine, but to the entire world. He also said that Israel's military operations in Lebanon and Syria were also posing a risk to Turkey's security.

Turkey was once one of Israel's closest allies in the Middle East. However, after Erdogan came to power, relations between the two countries gradually deteriorated. Especially after the Gaza war that began on October 7, 2023, the tensions in bilateral relations increased further.

Hints at giving F-35 to Turkey
During the discussion, Trump was asked if he was preparing to give Turkey a large military package, such as the sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets and a dozen jet engines, before the upcoming NATO summit.

In response, Trump said, "I think so. I'm probably going to do something that will make him very happy.

Asked what conditions must be met for the F-35 sale, Trump pushed the question to Vice President J.D. Vance. Vance then said, “We have to make sure that we comply with U.S. law. The president has asked us to do that so that they can get the F-35. That’s basically a Congressional matter.” Trump then intervened and said the matter would be resolved.

The F-35 is one of the world’s most advanced stealth fighter jets. It was developed jointly by the United States and several NATO allies. However, in 2019, the United States removed Turkey from the F-35 program after it decided to buy the S-400 missile defense system from Russia.

U.S. law states that Turkey cannot rejoin the F-35 program if it operates or retains the S-400 system. However, last December, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said that the two countries had the most productive talks in nearly a decade due to the good personal relationship between Trump and Erdogan.