In the past several years there has been a standoff between Iran and the international community due to Iran's nuclear energy program, which is suspected of intending to obtain nuclear arms through uranium enrichment. Turkey, a party to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), has stressed its opposition to the proliferation of nuclear arms in the Middle East but has, at the same time, been advocating dialogue with Iran as a means of persuading Tehran to abandon such plans -- if it has any. Turkey has also been against the severe sanctions imposed on Tehran; this stance was a source of friction with the US under former President George W. Bush's administration in particular as well as with Israel -- both countries that possess nuclear weapons.
However, Ankara has been supporting the international community's effort to convince Tehran to abandon its possible development of nuclear arms. At the same time, Ankara does not want its nuclear energy program to be prevented by the arguments used against Iran.
Generally the Turkish political authorities as well as the politically powerful Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) underline that the Middle East -- including Israel -- should be a nuclear-free zone.
In this sense, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's remarks made in Washington on Nov. 15 of last year that Turkey is against the proliferation of nuclear arms in its region fell in line with the abovementioned general policy of Ankara. Following his remarks was a statement noting that those who urge Iran not to acquire nuclear arms should not have nuclear arms in their own inventories; this position has sparked controversy among some nations -- mainly the US and Israel.
President Abdullah Gül's latest remarks on Iran's nuclear policy, however, come as a clarification of Turkey's policy on this issue.
On his way to Tehran to participate in the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) meeting held on Tuesday, Gül said Turkey would oppose Iran's desire to acquire nuclear weapons.
Gül's remarks not only clarified Turkey's stand on Iran's possible nuclear ambitions, but also marked a slight change in the Turkish perception that a nuclear Iran would not pose a threat to its Muslim neighbor.
A shift in the US's policy under President Barack Obama to seek dialogue with Iran, meanwhile, will alleviate Turkish-US unease over how to deal with Iran.
Turkey itself has decided to build nuclear plants as a means of meeting its growing energy needs in this energy-scarce country. But influential figures in the US have raised fears by arguing that if Iran was not prevented from enriching uranium, then regional countries -- including Turkey -- would be compelled to have the same capabilities as they move toward the development of their civilian nuclear power plants.
Brent Scowcroft, national security adviser to former President George H.W. Bush, testified on March 5 before the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and offered an outline of what he thought President Obama's approach to Iran should be. Scowcroft suggested that the United States offer to provide Iran and other countries with enriched uranium for nuclear power plants at a discount rate and take control of removing spent nuclear fuel.
"If Iran continues to enrich uranium, I suspect that Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey will be compelled to have the same capability as they move toward development of their civilian nuclear power program," he said.
As a matter of fact, Turkey has already initiated a long-range missile program to thwart a possible missile threat that may come from its neighbors.
Murad Bayar, head of the Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry (SSM), was telling me recently that Turkey does not perceive Iran as a threat, but he also added that Ankara should include long-range missiles in its inventory for the first time, in order to protect the homeland against such threats.
A request for proposal (RfP) is expected to be released in April for the acquisition of 12 long-range air and missile defense systems (T-LORAMIDS) worth around $4 billion; this is a sign of the Turkish determination to accelerate this long-delayed project.
If Iran is not controlled, it is not out of the question that Turkey may resort to developing nuclear arms while accelerating its long-range missile acquisition project.
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