Islamic Republic of Iran

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, have held a phone call for crucial talks amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, with a focus on the recent developments between Israel and Hamas.

Middle East leaders and Iran's president meeting in the Saudi capital Saturday roundly condemned Israel's actions in its war against Hamas in Gaza, as fears mount the conflict could draw in other countries.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has slammed Western leaders for their lack of response to the ongoing violence between Israel and Hamas, calling on Muslims to stand with the people of Gaza.

"If we don't raise our voices as Muslims today, when will we do?" Erdoğan questioned during a summit of the Organization for Economic Cooperation held in the Uzbek capital Tashkent on Nov. 9.

Turkish and Iranian top diplomats urged that the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas can spread to the other parts of the region as armed non-state actors may no longer be controlled if Israel's atrocities against the civilians are not stopped.

The US announced that it had carried out airstrikes on two targets in Syria. The targets were linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Pentagon said in response to drone and missile attacks on US bases and personnel in the region that began early last week.

Israeli ground forces have penetrated relatively deep into the territory of the Gaza Strip, Israel's army radio reported. Numerous targets of the Islamist organization "Hamas" in the northern part of the strip were attacked.

Video footage of the overnight action shows armored vehicles driving through a sandy border zone, tank fire and explosions near destroyed buildings.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has intensified diplomatic efforts this weekend as he engaged in crucial discussions regarding the escalating crisis in Gaza.

Fidan embarked on a diplomatic mission, meeting his counterparts from Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia in Tehran on Oct. 23, during the South Caucasus Platform meeting.

Six Iranian border guards were killed in a clash with an unknown armed group trying to enter the country near the Pakistani border, state TV reported Sunday.

British writer Salman Rushdie attended a New York gala on Thursday night in his first public appearance since a knife attack that nearly took his life last year.

The award-winning novelist, a naturalized American who has lived in New York for 20 years, lost sight in one eye after being stabbed on stage in August while speaking at a US arts center.

The foreign ministers of Türkiye and Syria will meet under the mediation of Russia and with the participation of Iran in a four-way encounter in Moscow and discuss normalization of bilateral ties, fight against terrorism, Ankara has announced.