The Youth Union of Türkiye (TGB) and the Republican Women’s Association (CKD) organized a historic action titled “Angels of Minab” in front of the Istanbul Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran, standing against the aggression of the United States and Israel targeting Iran. In the statement, which emphasized that “Iran’s defense is Türkiye’s defense,” a defiant message was sent to the child-killer USA-Israel — responsible for the deaths of 168 girls — while messages of solidarity were conveyed to the resisting Iranian state and people.
stanbul today hosted a rising voice and a struggle against the aggression of American imperialism and Israeli Zionism. Members of the Youth Union of Türkiye (TGB) and the Republican Women’s Association (CKD) gathered at noon in front of the Istanbul Consulate General of the Islamic Republic of Iran, declaring to the entire world their solidarity with the resisting Iranian state and people.
At the press statement titled “Angels of Minab,” which drew a large crowd, tributes were paid to all martyrs — foremost among them the Leader of the Iranian Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, and the 168 students massacred in a brutal attack on a girls’ primary school in the city of Minab, Iran. At the action, where a banner reading “We Defy the Child-Killer USA and Israel! We Stand with the Resisting Iranian State and People!” was unfurled, a symbolic yet powerful protest against USA-Israel brutality was staged through 168 lunch boxes, school bags, toy bears, and photographs of the martyred children.
TGB Chairman Kayahan Çetin, in his address, underlined the shared destiny of Türkiye and Iran in standing against the USA and Israel in the region.
“The Blood of Minab’s Angels Is on Netanyahu’s Hands”
TGB Chairman Kayahan Çetin, speaking at the press statement, emphasized the child-killing nature of the USA and Israel and Netanyahu’s bloodstained hands, addressing those calling for neutrality on television screens with the following words:
“We came here with objects that will evoke the innocent memory of our brothers and sisters — forced into tiny graves by the murderous bombs of the USA and Israel. Backpacks, lunch boxes, the teddy bears they cuddled as they slept… Think about it: one morning you send your daughter to school, and by the order of the USA-Israel murderers, your child never comes back. Her bag, her notebook — soaked in blood. We ask those on television screens saying, ‘let us remain neutral’: Do you accept, can you stomach, the fact that the USA and Israel can press a single button and slaughter the children of this geography?”
Çetin described the power killing children as the “Epstein Coalition,” stating that these same hands reach out to children in their own countries with perversion, while taking lives in this region.
“Strike, Iran, Strike — We Are Behind You!”
Explicitly expressing their support for Iran’s military responses, Çetin argued that resistance can only be understood through its own language:
“We stand behind the missiles that scattered those CIA nests of espionage planted like daggers into our region, and behind the missiles that devastated MOSSAD headquarters in Tel Aviv.”
“The Turkish nation is behind you, the Islamic world is behind you, the front of humanity across the entire world is behind you! Strike, Iran, strike! Zionism understands this language; America is brought to reason by this language.”
Against the “Second Israel” and the Puppet Kurdistan Plan: A Common Front
Kayahan Çetin drew attention to the imperialist powers’ strategies to fragment the region, emphasizing that Iran’s struggle is directly tied to Türkiye’s territorial integrity:
Noting that US President Trump is pursuing a plan to unite separatist organizations, unleash them upon Iran, and establish a “puppet Kurdistan” in western Iran, Çetin stated that pawns such as PJAK are being prepared for this very plan.
Çetin said that Iran is in fact fighting against the “Second Israel” project — which also aims to divide Türkiye — and recalled that the weapons amassed in the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia have their barrels pointed at both Iran and Türkiye.
Asserting that there are actors trying to incite Türkiye and Iran against one another despite all these realities, Çetin responded: “They carry out their duties through all kinds of pro-NATO provocations and word games. Your masters — the USA and Israel, the CIA and MOSSAD — will never have the power to pit Iran and Türkiye against each other!”
Noting that the targets Iran has engaged (bases in Greek Cyprus, the coalition in the Eastern Mediterranean) are in fact Türkiye’s enemies as well, he reiterated that the defense of the neighboring country means the defense of Türkiye.
“The Bases Are Daggers Thrust into our Chest”
Drawing attention to the US military presence in Türkiye, Çetin reminded the government and the public of the following concrete realities:
“Incirlik Air Base is the center of every dark operation the USA conducts against our country and our region. The Kürecik Radar Base monitors Iran on behalf of Israel, under the NATO flag, on our own soil.”
“Apparently, the intelligence gathered at Kürecik is shared with NATO allies — but not with Israel, they say. The USA is going to war alongside Israel, but won’t share this intelligence? Stop making a mockery of our intelligence.”
“AWACS aircraft taking off from the NATO base in Konya are surveilling Iran and gathering intelligence. This cannot be permitted.”
Çetin stressed that these bases must immediately be placed under Turkish Armed Forces control, saying: “We can fulfill our duty of neighborliness to our neighbor and brotherhood to our kin only by pulling out and discarding these daggers.”
“Wars Are Not Won by Technology Alone”
Expressing his conviction that Iran will emerge victorious from this war, the TGB Chairman made reference to the cultural and spiritual depth of the Iranian people:
“Iran has technology, but above all it has its Ferdowsis, its Saadi Shirazis, its Khayyams. It has a leader (Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei) who considered himself equal to his people in martyrdom and courage — a leader who was martyred at his post, without hiding from the enemy, together with his family, in his own residence. It has a nation ignited by the flames of that leader’s martyrdom.”
“Iran’s Victory Will Illuminate All of Western Asia”
Following TGB Chairman Kayahan Çetin, CKD General Executive Board (GYK) Member Zeynep Ses took the floor to convey the solidarity sentiments of Turkish women and the theme of shared destiny against imperialism. Ses delivered the following striking remarks:
“Iran Is the Country of the Unbowed”
Stating that as the Republican Women’s Association they strongly condemn the attacks launched by the USA and Israel, Zeynep Ses drew attention to Iran’s historical power of resistance:
She expressed that Iran is the state of a nation that has throughout its millennia-long history drowned many an occupier in its own soil and never bowed its head.
She described the attacks of American imperialism and Israeli Zionism as “the final convulsions of a beast that has met its end.”
She emphasized that Iran’s resistance is not only the resistance of its own borders, but the resistance of Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Türkiye.
“Greetings to Iranian Sisters from Atatürk’s Women”
Zeynep Ses referenced the historical bond between the Turkish and Iranian peoples and the first victories won against imperialism:
“We, the women of the Turkish nation that achieved the first victory in history against imperialism a century ago under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, convey our solidarity to our sisters in Iran. Your resistance is our resistance; your martyrs are our martyrs.”
Harsh Response to Pro-Western Civil Society Organizations
Zeynep Ses, in her speech, specifically accused pro-Western, democracy-and-freedom-advocating civil society organizations (CSOs) of hypocrisy:
She recalled that more than 150 lives were lost in the attack on the girls’ primary school in Minab, and that female volleyball players were targeted in a sports hall in the Lamerd district.
Addressing pro-Western CSOs, Ses reacted: “These are the girls killed by the USA and Israel… Come now, speak of democracy, of freedom, of modernity! Go ahead and speak!”
Praise for Iranian Mothers and Leadership
Concluding her remarks with reference to Iran’s societal will and leadership, Ses stated the following:
Addressing the Iranian mothers who have given birth to the most valiant of sons, she expressed her pride in them for teaching their children love of homeland and the passion for independence.
She described Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as “a great leader who has put his life on the line for all of humanity,” and expressed that he is the martyr of both the Iranian and Turkish peoples.
Stating that wars are won by those who do not fear death, Ses concluded her address with the words: “The dawn will break with Iran’s victory and illuminate all of Western Asia.”
The press statement concluded with chants of solidarity with the Iranian people and state. TGB and CKD declared that this action is only a beginning, and announced that throughout the coming week, they will continue the struggle at universities and public squares across Türkiye under the motto “An attack on Iran is an attack on Türkiye.”
The statement closed with the chants: “Down with the USA, Down with Israel,” “Long live Türkiye-Iran brotherhood!”
We call on all members of the public to support our action and share it on social media using the hashtag #AngelsOfMinab.