Enemies of Ummah seek to expand regional war, Pezeshkian tells Erdogan

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says enemies are working to spread terrorism and insecurity in the region by engineering internal crises in Muslim states, pointing to “direct” US-Israeli role in Iran riots.

“The plan of the enemies of the Islamic Ummah is to expand and sustain war, terrorism, and insecurity in the region by creating internal crises in Islamic countries,” Pezeshkian told his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during a telephone conversation late Thursday.

Enemies, he maintained, “do not want Muslim nations to live in peace, security and stability.”

Pezeshkian thanked the Turkish government and people for their “firm, principled and brotherly” support for the Islamic Republic of Iran.

He said the recent riots in Iran had clear external dimensions and pointed to the “direct role” of the United States and the Israeli regime.

He said protests by some merchants and trade groups, sparked by economic problems caused by “unjust pressures and sanctions,” had initially been peaceful and were being managed toward resolution.

“However, groups of trained terrorists, with unprecedented actions such as setting fire to mosques and public and government centers, destroying rescue equipment, and killing civilians as well as security and law enforcement forces, sought to advance their destructive goals with the direct support of the United States and the Zionist regime,” Pezeshkian said.

“The million-strong presence of the Iranian people on the scene ultimately dismantled these conspiracies,” he said, referring to nationwide rallies on January 12.

He expressed confidence that unity, cohesion and convergence among Islamic countries, alongside comprehensive efforts to confront terrorism, would steer the region toward lasting calm and stability.

Elsewhere in the conversation, Pezeshkian praised the “excellent” level of relations between Iran and Turkey. “Relations between the two countries are on a very good path, and we are determined to further upgrade and strengthen bilateral ties,” he said.

He added that Tehran was looking forward to Erdogan’s visit for the ninth meeting of the two countries’ High-Level Cooperation Council.

Erdogan, for his part, offered condolences over the deaths of a large number of Iranian civilians and security personnel during the recent unrest.

He said peace, stability and security in Iran were of “extraordinary importance” for Turkey and stressed that Ankara had consistently voiced this position in all arenas and forums.

Praising Iran’s “principled, structured and responsible” approach to handling the protests and managing their de-escalation, Erdoğan said Iran had taken “very good measures” in the economic sphere.

“We have always rejected interventionist scenarios against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and today we also explicitly condemn and reject them,” he added.

‘Full-scale atrocity’: Iran security body reports 2,427 martyrs in US-Israeli-led riots

Iran’s Security Council says that 2,427 individuals, comprising innocent civilians and security personnel, were martyred in a "full-scale atrocity" orchestrated by foreign powers.

According to an official report released by Iran’s Security Council, organized foreign-backed terrorist cells hijacked peaceful protests and launched coordinated armed attacks aimed at creating mass casualties and destabilizing cities.

It said the peak of the violence came on January 8 and 9, when attackers carried out “Daesh-style crimes,” including beheadings, stabbings and burning people alive, alongside systematic assaults on bazaars, shops, banks, mosques, hospitals, ambulances and other public infrastructure.

The Security Council said intelligence findings showed the campaign targeted Iran’s social cohesion after the failure of military pressure, referring to the June 2025 US-Israeli aggression on Iran. 

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