Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke at a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation held in Istanbul and criticized Israel for its actions against Iran. "Israel's goal in its attacks is to sabotage nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran. This shows they are not interested in diplomacy. They have no other purpose but to drag the world into disaster." According to him, "The fate of Istanbul is not separate from the fate of Damascus, Baghdad, Tehran, Mecca, Medina, Gaza and Jerusalem. The steps taken by Iran to protect its people against Israel's regime of terror are natural, legitimate and legal."