Where does Turkey stand in Middle East?

[duluxe]

As the smoke cleared over Tehran after the beginning of the Israeli-US strikes, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quick to point the finger. “This all began following Netanyahu’s provocations,” the Turkish leader stated, “we feel deep sorrow and great concern.” He went further, issuing a chilling warning: “God willing, I have no doubt that Israel will pay the price for this.”

The casual observer might imagine that Turkey, fighting as it is with Iran for dominance of the region, would welcome the strike against the Islamic Republic.

However, Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, a leading expert on Turkish affairs at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, explains that Turkey has a vested interest in the survival of the current Iranian regime.

“Ankara does not want to see a new ‘surprise’ in the form of regime change,” Yanarocak notes. “They are interested in the continuation of the regime because if a revolution occurs, Turkey’s monopoly as the primary bridge between the West and the Middle East simply disappears.”

Policy expert Jonathan Adiri agrees, suggesting that Turkey prefers a crippled neighbor over a liberated one.
“Turkey wants a non-nuclear, weak Iran,” Adiri says. “They want a sort of ‘weakened virus’ in the region. An Iran that is pro-Western and working with the Americans would become a magnet for foreign investment, which would directly hurt the Turkish economy.”

Iranian Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Freedom Party, known as PAK take part in a training session at a base on the outskirts of Erbil, Iraq February 12, 2026. (credit: REUTERS/STRINGER)

Perhaps the most potent driver of Erdogan’s anxiety is the Kurdish question. For decades, the Iranian and Turkish regimes have shared a common interest in suppressing Kurdish nationalist aspirations. A destabilized Iran could lead to the emergence of an autonomous or independent Kurdish entity on Turkey’s southern border – a prospect Erdogan finds intolerable.

According to several sources, Erdogan and other senior Turkish officials pressured US President Donald Trump not to give a green light to an Israeli operation that would have resulted in Kurdish fighters in Iran starting a rebellion against the Iranian regime.

Adira points out that Erdogan and Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan drew a red line with Washington regarding the use of Kurdish forces from Iraq to move against Iran.

Erdogan told his public: ‘Case closed,’ regarding the Kurdish story,” Adiri observes. “He is deathly afraid of that box being reopened. From Ankara’s perspective, the success of a Kurdish-led or Kurdish-supported uprising in Iran would have a domino effect on Kurds in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.”

A withdrawal of legitimacy for Israel’s very existence​

As the geopolitical stakes have risen, so has the temperature of the rhetoric. Erdogan has increasingly abandoned the language of diplomacy in favor of the language of the “resistance.” He recently referred to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “Hitler,” and Turkey issued arrest warrants for a slew of Israeli officials.

 

[syed putra]

Ruling turkiye elites are jewish converts i was told. Including Kamel Attartuk. Muslim on the outside, jew on the inside. Same as Saudi and UAE monarchy and ruling tribe.

 

[laksaboy]

Turkey is just a rump state of the Islamic Ottoman Empire, and the delulu Islamofascists still believe that the Middle East still belonged to them.

 

[404]

Playing White and Red Face While Helping the West. In reality, Turkey has aligned itself closely to the Western side. For four years Turkey has sold weapons and sent aid to Ukraine while still doing business with Russia. Putin helped Erdogan avoid being assassinated. It also sold oil and commodities to Israel

 

[k1976]

Ruling turkiye elites are jewish converts i was told. Including Kamel Attartuk. Muslim on the outside, jew on the inside. Same as Saudi and UAE monarchy and ruling tribe.

Malay are the True Foremost Muslim grand defender of all Muslim mah, right Cik Syed?