Ankara strongly condemned the Israeli airtrikes as a "clear violation of international law" and called it a "provocation that serves Israel's strategic policy of destabilisation in the region."

"Israel must put an immediate end to its aggressive actions that could lead to further conflicts," Turkey's foregn ministry said in a statement.

In May, Istanbul played host to nuclear negotiations between Iran and European powers.

"The fact that the strikes come at a time of intensified negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme shows that the (Benjamin) Netanyahu government is unwilling to resolve any issue through diplomatic means and is not averse to putting regional stability and global peace at risk for its own interests," the foreign ministry said.

"We call on the international community to take urgent action to prevent the spread of war," it added.