Turkey's Erdogan says Israel must not scupper US-Iran deal

ANKARA, July 4 (Reuters) - ‌Turkish President ​Tayyip ​Erdogan said on Saturday that Middle East peace efforts could not succeed without ‌regional backing and that Israel must not ⁠be allowed to "dynamite" the U.S.-Iran peace deal.

Speaking alongside Pakistani ‌Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ‌in Istanbul, Erdogan said: "No solution that does not take strength from the will and contributions of ​regional countries can be lasting."

Turkey, a NATO member and Iran's neighbour, has repeatedly accused ⁠Israel of trying to undermine the U.S.-Iran deal mediated by Pakistan, ​and has condemned Israeli operations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.

"We are closely following the ​Israeli administration's attempts to ‌dynamite the (U.S.-Iran) deal... The current war-addicted Israeli government must not be allowed to ⁠drown our geography in the smell of gunpowder and blood again," Erdogan said.

Erdogan also said Turkey aimed ⁠to deepen cooperation with Pakistan in energy, transport, critical ​minerals, information technology and defence, while pursuing a bilateral trade target of $5 billion.

Earlier on Saturday, officials from both countries ‌attended a business forum in Istanbul. Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said ‌Turkish firms wanted to contribute to projects in ⁠Pakistan and share Turkey's ‌energy-sector expertise as ​Pakistan undergoes a transformation of its electricity sector.

(Reporting by Tuvan GumrukcuEditing by Ros ‌Russell)

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