Erdogan warns Trump against further Iran strikes
Turkish president reveals phone call as Iran signals openness to dialogue while Hegseth defends war decision.
Erdogan warns Trump against further Iran strikes — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today (Monday) he spoke with US President Donald Trump and presented Ankara's reservations about further strikes on Iran. Erdogan's intervention came as the Iranian leadership publicly shifted its posture. The IRNA news agency published remarks today by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who said Supreme Leader Khamenei ordered an end to the 'no war, no peace' situation. Pezeshkian emphasized that "Iran is open to dialogue with dignity and on equal terms, but will not succumb to coercion and bullying." Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth defended the decision to go to war in Iran, telling reporters today that "the choice was between avoiding action and taking a bold step to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons."[^1] Hegseth faces growing criticism and a push by Republican Congressman Thomas Massie to impeach him.[^1] The competing signals — Erdogan's warning, Iran's conditional openness, and Hegseth's defiance — suggest the diplomatic track and the military track are running in parallel, with no clear resolution in sight. 500 police officers arrest dozens in nationwide raids — Early this morning, 500 police officers, Border Police fighters, and special units raided targets across the country, arresting dozens of suspects at the conclusion of a lengthy undercover investigation by the Coastal District's Central Unit and Lahav 433.[^1] The operation, described by police as "cross-district," signals a broad push against organized crime networks operating in multiple jurisdictions simultaneously. Separately, Ahad Rahal, head of the Al-Batuf Regional Council, was arrested in Operation 'Shadow Guardians' against extortion of protection money in the north.[^2] The arrest of a sitting local council head in a protection racket case underscores how deeply extortion networks have penetrated municipal governance in Arab communities. In the same vein, the Supreme Court increased sentences for robbers who broke into a jewelry store in Kfar Manda using a bulldozer, stealing jewelry worth nearly two million shekels, adding an additional year to their prison te