Squeezed between hostile powers, Turkey tries playing it cool
Why it matters: Turkey's delicate balancing act reveals the profound regional risks of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
- Turkey actively lobbied the Trump administration for a diplomatic resolution with Iran, accurately predicting widespread fallout from military strikes.
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned U.S. and Israeli strikes as a violation of Iran's sovereignty and offered condolences for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's death.
- Ankara simultaneously criticized Tehran for misjudging Washington's mood and denounced Iran's missile and drone attacks on GCC states as "incredibly wrong."
- Matthew Bryza, former U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, emphasizes Turkey's core goal is maintaining Iran's territorial integrity to prevent the spread of PKK-fueled separatism into Turkey.
- Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned against using ethnic separatism to incite civil war in Iran, receiving assurances from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the U.S. was not pursuing such a strategy.
Caught between escalating U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, Turkey is meticulously navigating a path of neutrality, condemning strikes while also criticizing Tehran's provocations. Ankara's primary concern is preventing Iran's destabilization, which could ignite a refugee crisis and empower Kurdish militant groups like the PKK, posing a direct threat to Turkish security.
