Presidents of Iran and Turkey aid Friday that closer cooperation and consultation between the two countries is needed to address regional issues, including the hostile policy adopted by Israel and the United States toward the Palestinians.
"Closer consultations and relations between Tehran and Ankara benefit both nations and help augment peace, stability and security in the region," President Hassan Rouhani told his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on the sidelines of an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul, the president's official website reported.
Turkey called for the summit after Israeli troops shot dead 60 unarmed Palestinians and injured more than 2,700 during protests on the Gaza border against the relocation of the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Beit-ul-Moqaddas on May 14—in the bloodiest day of the conflict since the 2014 Gaza war.
High Priority
Rouhani told Erdogan the high turnout at the meeting showed that resolving the issue of Palestine is a priority for Muslim nations.
The Turkish leader said collaboration between the two neighbors on regional matters is of high significance.
"Many of the actions taken by the US government such as its unilateral withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement and moving its embassy to holy Quds are not legitimate and unacceptable in the eyes of other countries. If we stand against such measures, we will achieve good results," Erdogan said.
Muslim leaders at the meeting called for an international force to be deployed to protect Palestinians and pledged to take appropriate political and economic measures against countries that follow the US illegal act in moving their embassies to the occupied holy city, according to Reuters.
UN Probe
On Friday, the United Nations Human Rights Council voted to set up a probe into the killings in Gaza and accused Israel of excessive use of force.
The resolution to send a commission of inquiry to investigate was rejected by the US and Australia, but backed by 29 members of the 47-state UN forum. Another 14 countries, including Britain, Germany and Japan, abstained.
Two million people live in Gaza, which has been run by Hamas since 2007. Israel and Egypt maintain a blockade of Gaza for security reasons, which the UN says has led to the collapse of Gaza's economy.
Tangible Steps
In a speech at the one-day conference in Istanbul, the Iranian president urged Muslim nations to take concrete measures against the US government and Israel.
"We call on Muslim governments and freedom-seeking nations in the world to revise their political, economic and commercial ties with the US administration, and also cut their relations with the occupying Zionist regime and boycott its goods and companies," he was quoted as saying.
Rouhani put forward several other suggestions, including holding a special UN General Assembly session to discuss the "illegal" relocation of the American Embassy and the recent killings, offering humanitarian assistance to Palestinians, dismantling Israel's secret nuclear arsenal and inclusion of the International Quds Day in the official calendars of all Islamic countries.
International Quds Day is an annual event held on the last Friday of Ramadan and was initiated by Iran to express solidarity with the oppressed Palestinians against the pattern of western-backed Israeli atrocities.
