ISLAMABAD (Dunya News): A viral claim circulating on social media falsely attributes a statement to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, alleging that Türkiye would have attacked Israel if Pakistan had not mediated between the United States and Iran.
The claim gained traction after a video was shared on April 11 on X (formerly Twitter), showing Erdoğan delivering a speech in Turkish. The accompanying caption suggested that he praised Pakistan’s mediation efforts, criticized Israel’s actions in Lebanon, and warned of a possible Turkish response if Pakistan had not intervened.
The post garnered millions of views and thousands of shares, with similar claims spreading across multiple social media platforms.
However, fact-checking reveals that Erdoğan made no such statement in any recent speech. The video in question was traced back to April 10, when Erdoğan addressed a conference of Asian political parties (ICAPP) in Istanbul. The original footage was broadcast by Turkish state media.
In the relevant portion of the speech, Erdoğan spoke about alleged ceasefire violations by Israel in Lebanon, accusing Israel of violence against civilians, including women and children. However, he made no mention of Pakistan, nor did he suggest any military action against Israel.
Türkiye’s Disinformation Counteraction Center also clarified that Erdoğan did not make the claimed remarks. Additionally, Turkish media outlets did not report any such statement.
The claim that Erdoğan threatened to attack Israel in the absence of Pakistan’s mediation is entirely false, as no such reference appears in his actual speech.