Breaking News: Erdoğan's response to Netanyahu: 'No power can wag a finger at Turkey and the President of Turkey'

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made statements regarding the agenda at his party's group meeting in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM).

Our Chairman and President Erdoğan is speaking at our TBMM Group Meeting... https://t.co/5xjLwjbr8s

— AK Parti (@Akparti) April 15, 2026

It had been alleged that the mayors of Antalya - Serik, Kadir Kumbul (CHP); Niğde - Çiftlik district's Bozköy town, Muammer Çelikbaş (CHP); Tokat - Central district's Çat town, Ali Pelit (Yeniden Refah Party); and Muş central district's Yaygın, Selahattin Yalçın (Saadet Party), would join the AKP today. It was claimed that Erdoğan would pin the badges on the 4 mayors. However, the participation expected at the AKP group meeting did not take place.

The highlights from Erdoğan's statements are as follows:

My dear nation, my esteemed fellow members of parliament, I greet you all with my most heartfelt feelings, with respect and love.

At the very beginning of my words, on the occasion of the April 14-20 Martyrs' Week, I commemorate with mercy all the heroes who marched to martyrdom on different fronts, from the fight against terrorism to cross-border operations, for the survival of our homeland, the peace of our nation, and the security of our state. May the Almighty bless their souls and grant them paradise. I also express my gratitude to our heroic veterans for their sacrifices and pray to the Lord for them to have a prosperous, healthy, and fruitful life. I offer my deepest respects to the esteemed families of our martyrs and state once again that our state will always stand by them.

"I AM SADDENED BY THE ATTACK AT THE HIGH SCHOOL"

Here, I also want to share my sadness regarding the incident that occurred yesterday at a high school in the Siverek district of Şanlıurfa, which wounded us all as a nation. Investigations have been launched into this regrettable and heinous incident, one person has been detained, and 4 administrators have been suspended from duty. The attack is being investigated in all its aspects. Those who have negligence and fault in the incident will definitely be held accountable. Of the 16 people injured in the attack, 7 have been discharged, and the treatment of our 9 injured continues. I wish a speedy recovery to our injured from the Almighty; I convey my get-well wishes to our families, our educational community, and our brothers and sisters in Siverek.

"DRILLING CONTINUES WITH OUR OWN SHIPS"

My dear brothers and sisters, our esteemed members of parliament, we are concerned with using every breath we take to serve our country, with the high responsibility of being worthy of our nation's appreciation and favor. We are implementing vision projects that will illuminate our country's horizon in every field, from energy to the defense industry, from transportation to family, from education to health.

"THERE IS A 23-YEAR EFFORT, STRUGGLE, AND LABOR"

We are advancing towards our goal of a fully independent Turkey in energy with determination, patience, and perseverance. I must state this with great pride today. If our industrialists, producers, farmers, tourism professionals, and transporters have no concerns about accessing energy despite the wars in our region, there is a 23-year effort, struggle, and labor behind it.

Enriching our energy basket and increasing the number of supplier countries has been our priority since day one. Furthermore, we have moved Turkey to a higher league in energy with new investments we have made in areas such as hydroelectric, wind, geothermal, solar, and nuclear.

The greatest revolution, however, we realized in exploration and drilling activities. We decided to carry out the oil and natural gas exploration activities, which were previously done for years through leasing, with our own means. Then we established the world's fourth-largest deep-sea fleet. With our discovery in the Black Sea, we have effectively broken the jinx. We are currently meeting the needs of 4 million households with Black Sea gas. In 2026, we will increase this figure to 8 million households. By 2028, we will be able to meet the natural gas needs of 16-17 million households from our own resources.

We are continuing our drilling activities in the Black Sea with our own ships. We are not only exploring in our own seas, but we are also offering these opportunities to friendly and brotherly countries.

My esteemed fellow members of parliament, a ceremony took place in Somalia on Friday that made us all proud. Our deep-sea drilling ship, Çağrı Bey, arrived in that country to begin hydrocarbon exploration at the Curat-1 well off the coast of Somalia. We had conducted seismic research in an area of approximately 4,500 square kilometers for 7 months with our Oruç Reis ship and reached promising findings. Now, we say 'God willing' with Çağrı Bey, and hopefully, we are starting our first drilling.

"WE ARE REALIZING IT WITH OUR OWN HUMAN POWER"

This is another source of our pride: Curat-1 will be the world's second-deepest sea drilling at a depth of 7,500 meters. Our navy ships named Altan, Korkut, and Sancar will accompany Çağrı Bey in this critical mission. In other words, we are now carrying out the tasks we previously had to be grateful to others for with our own ships, our own engineers, and our own human power.

As I always say; from where to where. Turkey has reached this point in just 23 years despite the obstacles. Turkey has reached a level that is a source of pride for all the oppressed, along with its citizens who write history and epics in a short time. Even if some in our country cannot see this because they close their eyes to Turkey's successes, believe me, our friends and brothers see it very clearly. Likewise, our noble nation is aware of everything with its profound wisdom.

Look, I want to share with you the feelings of a young Somali brother who saw Çağrı Bey up close here. He uses exactly these expressions: 'I still haven't been able to shake off the effects of the Çağrı Bey ship. Seeing it up close was a breathtaking experience for me. Because Çağrı Bey was like a giant walking city. Huge, brand new, very beautifully built. Mashallah, it is almost a work of art.' Yes, we see these sincere expressions poured from the heart of a Somali youth to his pen as the most beautiful sign of both a strong Turkey and Turkey-Somalia brotherhood.

"WE WILL CONTINUE TO SHOULDER AND SUPPORT THE SOMALI PEOPLE'S STRUGGLE FOR DEVELOPMENT"

As I always say, we are not candidates for exploitation, but for winning together. We wholeheartedly believe that Çağrı Bey will give good news to our Somali brothers. We say to our drilling ship Çağrı Bey, may your path be clear and your drilling be fruitful. We wish our ship personnel success from the Almighty. Just as we rushed to Somalia's aid in 2011 when no one else was there, and just as we have never left our Somali brothers alone since that day, we will hopefully continue to shoulder and support the Somali people's struggle for development from now on as well.

We are going through very intense days in the context of internal and external developments. We are personally witnessing a period where the late Chingiz Aitmatov's expression 'A Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years' has literally taken flesh and bone. As the global system, built on rules and institutions determined by the victors of the Second World War, cracks in its economic, political, and security dimensions, what will replace it and what will come remains uncertain.

Humanity is looking for a way out and salvation for itself. However, we cannot yet say that this path has appeared on the horizon. Humanity's longing for peace, stability, security, and a bit of tranquility is unfortunately being dynamited by circles that feed on blood and chaos. The latest example of this is the unlawful war that began on February 28 and brought our region to the brink of an abyss. Who wanted the war, who provoked it, and who derived rent and benefit from it have emerged over the time that has passed. The validity of the assessment we made on the first day of the war regarding the role of the Zionist lobby has been understood over time.

As you know, on the 40th day of the conflicts, a 15-day ceasefire was declared with the commendable efforts of our Pakistani brothers. Thus, all of humanity, along with the regional peoples who have been living with their hearts in their mouths for weeks, took a sigh of relief for the first time after 40 days. We also expressed our satisfaction with the temporary ceasefire. However, the Israeli government's continuation of its attacks on Lebanon dealt the first blow to hopes for peace. Unfortunately, the expected news did not come from the meetings hosted by Pakistan over the weekend.

The statements of the parties indicate that even if the table has not been overturned, a deadlock has been reached in the negotiation process, especially on the nuclear issue. We see that tension is rising again in the Strait of Hormuz. We are making the necessary suggestions and initiatives regarding reducing tension, extending the ceasefire, and continuing the talks. As I said before, there is no negotiation with clenched fists. Instead of words, weapons should not be allowed to speak again. The window of opportunity opened by the ceasefire should be utilized to the fullest. In particular, the Israeli government, which is known to be unhappy with the ceasefire, should not be allowed to sabotage the process.

"IF THERE IS TO BE PEACE IN OUR REGION, IT WILL BE DESPITE THIS ZIONIST REGIME"

My brothers, everyone must now understand this once and for all. If there is to be peace in our region, it will be despite this Zionist regime. If stability is to be achieved in our region, it will again be despite the Israeli government, which acts with the delusion of promised lands. If peace is to come to our geography, which is stained with blood, it will likewise be despite Israel, which ties its security to the insecurity of others. Because whenever the slightest hope for peace appears, Israel will try every way to sabotage it, as it has done many times before. As the humanity front tries to extinguish the fire in our region, the massacre network will carry more wood to the fire.

Of course, while doing this, they will continue to arrogantly target countries that raise the voice of peace, especially Turkey and Spain. They will try to silence those with a conscience with their hitman pens, their media, and the puppets they use as apparatuses. But no matter what they do, they will not be able to silence brave hearts, they will not be able to put chains on hearts that defend justice and truth.

From here, under the roof of our Grand Assembly, I wholeheartedly congratulate my dear friend Prime Minister Sanchez of Spain, who took a firm stance against the threats of the butcher of Gaza, Netanyahu. I congratulate the friendly Spanish people in the same way on behalf of my country and my nation. Let everyone know that we will not surrender to the language of hatred, the language of hostility, the language of tension and conflict fanned by the genocide network.

With dignity, with honor, and with the nobility and courage we inherited from our history, we will continue to speak the truth in the most difficult times. We will continue to call the oppressor an oppressor, the bandit a bandit, and the murderer a murderer. We will continue to be the crying voice of innocent children in Gaza. We will continue to listen to the cries of Palestinian mothers whose hearts are burned by the pain of their children. We will continue to defend the rights of our brothers whose lands are occupied in the West Bank. We will continue to be the followers of the case of the children who were murdered while sleeping in their beds in Lebanon. We will continue to slap the truths that some want to cover up with threats and tyranny into their faces.

Unlike those who owe their presence in our geography to the favor someone did 100 years ago, we will continue to act with a sense of responsibility in the light of our 1,000-year experience in these lands. I am reminding the baby killers who cast aspersions on me and my country via social media of some facts once again: The Republic of Turkey is not an ordinary state. No power can wag a finger at Turkey and the President of Turkey. Let no one interpret our being soft-headed and sensible as us being docile sheep; let no one fall into such a delusion. We see lying honorably under the ground when necessary as the greatest of honors rather than living dishonorably above the ground.

As Tayyip Erdoğan, myself and all my fellow cause-mates; we are all children of a heroic nation whose National Anthem begins with the cry "Fear not!". We are members of a political movement that has engraved these magnificent lines into their hearts with its 11.5 million members:

"I have lived free since the beginning, I live free.

Which madman will put chains on me? I am amazed!

I am like a roaring flood, I trample my dam, I cross it.

I tear through mountains, I do not fit into the vastness, I overflow.

If a steel-armored wall has surrounded the horizon of the West,

I have a frontier like my chest full of faith.

Be proud, fear not! How can such a faith be drowned,

By the single-toothed monster you call 'Civilization'?'"

Yes, let the ignorant who think they will put chains on this nation, which tramples and crosses dams like a roaring flood even in the midst of impossibilities, never forget that we have the power, strength, and determination to tear through mountains when necessary.

On this occasion, I thank our People's Alliance partner, Nationalist Movement Party Chairman Mr. Devlet Bahçeli, and all politicians who reacted against the insolence towards our country and ourselves. I express with pleasure that we find this common stance put forward by political parties struggling to serve the nation in different lanes when it comes to Turkey and Turkey's national pride to be very valuable.

We have not lost our hope in the negotiation process that has begun between Iran and the United States, despite all the difficulties experienced. It is a fact that the loser of a meaningless war is many, and the winner of a just peace is many. We want everyone to look at the process this way. There may be difficulties, there may be complicated issues that will take time to resolve. But when focused on the blessings of peace and when acting with a long-term perspective, a significant portion of these will be put on the path to resolution. We believe that common sense, prudence, and the will to resolve problems through dialogue and diplomacy will eventually prevail; or rather, we desire and wish for this with all our hearts.

As Turkey, I want it to be known that we will work with all our means for peace and tranquility to prevail in every corner of our region. With the principle of "Peace at home, peace in the region, peace in the world," we are always ready to be the voice of peace and to lead peace efforts.

Of course, we do not forget this fact of our country in this process: Turkey, which is in a great breakthrough abroad, unfortunately does not have a main opposition party compatible with this vision. While the opposition, which has a complex against the West, embarrasses our country at international meetings, it condemns our nation to incompetence in domestic politics. Turkey, which is in a period of rise in global politics, is unfortunately experiencing a "period of interregnum" in the literal sense in the municipalities managed by the main opposition at home.

News Source: 12punto