On many platforms, Erdoğan was asked whether he saw a US military strike on Iran as possible, to which he replied by saying: “Turkey would not wish for such a thing to happen in the region. This would be a very wrong thing. Not only would those who attempt to make this craziness suffer from the effects of this, the entire region would be harmed. You know what happened in Iraq after it was invaded; this should be a lesson for all. Now it is necessary to ask what has been achieved in Iraq. From what I can see, a country, a civilization collapsed there and more than 1 million people lost their lives. Now there is talk of a military strike against Iran on the grounds that it has nuclear weapons. OK, but there are also other countries which have nuclear weapons; why is nobody talking about them?” Erdoğan was apparently referring to Israel as one of the other countries which has nuclear weapons but draws no criticism from other countries. Analysts find a US military strike against Iran unlikely, noting that Turkey has an important mission here in maintaining its relations with neighboring Iran despite Western countries' interference. Akşam's İsmail Küçükkaya, who was one of the journalists accompanying Erdoğan during his US visit, says the Turkish government's role is difficult regarding Iran's nuclear dispute. “I want to say there is opportunity where there is a risk, but when the Iranians are at issue, one has to think twice. Every problem comes from its quest for nuclear power. Israel has that technology, and Iran also wants to have it,” he says. Questioning whether there is any likelihood of the United States carrying out a military strike against Iran due to its nuclear program, he says this is a very distant likelihood, but that this issue is something which is related to international power balances and global interests. “And world history has shown us that crazy acts can be done easily and on a large scale. The most challenging test of US President Barack Obama is one which will also give Erdoğan a headache. The goal is to find a solution without engaging in war. But what if a war breaks out, what do you think Ankara will do then?” asks Küçükkaya.
Another Akşam columnist, Deniz Ülke Arıboğan, thinks Israel and Iran want to have nuclear weapons because of the same motivations. “Both countries have a tendency to use these weapons as a language to make the world listen to them. Both countries have a fear of destruction, and their aggressive attitudes result from that fear. Let me warn them: Unfortunately, the use of such language does not work because it is not the language of love but profanity,” says Arıboğan.
Recalling Erdoğan's remarks that a military strike on Iran would be craziness and would have very severe consequences in the region, Yeni Şafak's Hakan Albayrak says this is not the first time that Turkey is standing by Iran. “Didn't Turkey sign a natural gas deal with Iran in 2007 even though the US Congress warned that such a move may cause Turkey to be influenced by the sanctions imposed on Iran? State officials back then said third countries cannot meddle in Turkey's relations with other countries and even said Turkish-Iranian relations are older than Turkish-US relations. We are faced with a picture which shows that the politics of regional integration has been institutionalized. This is a nice picture,” says Albayrak.
