Turkey is the ONLY predominantly Muslim member of NATO. It shares its southern border with the former state of Syria and Iraq. Iran is on its eastern border. And to the North, Turkey looks out onto the Black Sea, toward Crimea, the location of Russia’s sole, indigenous warm-water port of Sevastopol.
Turkey is the gateway between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. The Bosphorus Strait, which runs through the middle of Turkey’s most populous city, Instanbul, and connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. The Dardanelles then connect the Sea of Marmara with the Aegean Sea. Collectively, this series of internal waterways running through northwestern Turkey are referred to as the Turkish Straits. And the Aegean eventually opens up into the Mediterranean Sea, where the Russians had a naval base in the Syrian port city of Tartus.
Every single Russian naval vessel coming from their sole warm-water port of Sevastopol must pass through the Turkish Straits to gain access to the Mediterranean. The importance of this cannot be overemphasized because much of the Russian naval fleet remains ice-locked throughout the winter months. So the Russian Black Sea Fleet depends on passing through Turkey to gain access not only to the Med, but to the rest of the world’s oceans for several months out of the year. And thanks to the 1936 Montreaux Convention agreement, Turkey is not only the gateway between the Black Sea and the Med but also its gatekeeper, controlling and regulating the transit of ALL naval warships in the region through the Turkish Straits.
This makes Turkey a key strategic piece in the geopolitical chess game between the East and the West. Good thing they’re still a NATO ally, right? Or are they?
In the past few days, it has been widely reported that the Israelis suddenly consider Turkey to be a bigger threat than Iran, in the power-vacuum created by the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al Assad by the Sunni Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Why? And what would the U.S. role be in a direct conflict between Ankara and Tel Aviv?
Government Report: Israel Must Get Ready for War With Turkey
US working to prevent turkey offensive in Syria: Blinken – Al Arabiya
In Mike Whitney’s well-researched article Netanyahu Committee Says Israel Must Prepare for War with Turkey, he states the following:
Now that Assad is gone, the mask has been stripped away, and the competing agendas of the various actors are becoming more apparent. In this new paradigm, the US, Israel and Turkey are not allies attempting to achieve the same objective (toppling Assad), but bitter enemies determined to impose their own strategic vision on the entire region. This is where Washington’s ambitious plan to control the region’s pipeline corridors and critical resources meets head-on with the expansionist Zionist plan for Greater Israel and Turkey’s dream of a new Ottoman empire. The Middle East is simply not big enough for multiple hegemons attempting to control the main levers of regional power or to imposing their own security architecture on their far-flung neighbors. ‘Something’s gotta give.’ Sooner or later, there’s going to be a flashpoint followed by years of bloodletting. This is from an article at the Middle East Eye:
Israel must prepare for a direct confrontation with Turkey, according to the Nagel Committee’s latest report on the defense budget and security strategy. The committee, established by the government, warns that Turkey’s ambitions to restore its Ottoman-era influence could lead to heightened tensions with Israel, possibly escalating into conflict. The report highlights the risk of Syrian factions aligning with Turkey, creating a new and potent threat to Israel’s security.
“The threat from Syria could evolve into something even more dangerous than the Iranian threat,” the report states, warning that Turkish-backed forces might act as proxies, fueling regional instability. The committee’s assessment comes amid Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s increasingly assertive policies in the region, which some analysts view as antagonistic to Israel’s interests….
Netanyahu addressed the report, stating, “We are witnessing fundamental changes in the Middle East. Iran has long been our greatest threat, but new forces are entering the arena, and we must be prepared for the unexpected. This report provides us with a roadmap to secure Israel’s future.”…
What could be “even more dangerous than the Iranian threat” to the Israelis? The regional unification of Islamic forces under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan against political Zionism?
And why should any of this come as a surprise? HTS is euphemistically referred to as “a Sunni Islamist political and paramilitary organization” and Erdoğan is the de-facto caliph of the Sunni “Muslim” world. Did Erdoğan just get the “Great Satan” (U.S.) and the “little Satan” (Israelis) to help him remove Assad, so that Turkey could take over Syria, protect its Islamic heritage, and finally put an end to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the rest of the U.S.-backed Kurdish rebels?
Wouldn’t that explain why Turkey has suddenly become the primary existential threat to the counterfeit-Jewish state of Israel?
Turkey was the first country to reopen its embassy in Syria after the HTS takeover. And they did so less than a week after Assad was ousted. Turkey’s embassy had been closed since 2012, when they cut diplomatic ties with Syria.
So what will Turkey do next? Erdoğan has made it crystal clear that they will continue to target the U.S.-backed SDF, along with the SDF parent groups: the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and its Syrian branch, the YPG. Only now there’s no longer any reason to keep up appearances to further a shared agenda with the U.S. and the Israelis. The resources now at Erdoğan’s disposal include not only Turkish military forces and the Syrian National Army (SNA), but likely HTS, and possibly Iran and Russia.
January 9, 2025: Fighting reportedly erupted along parts of the frontline between the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) in northern Syria amid indications of an upcoming SNA offensive against the SDF.
January 10, 2025: Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Hakan Fidan said on January 10 that the HTS-led interim Syrian government should be given the opportunity to address Kurdish militants’ presence within the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) before Turkey takes military action. Fidan said that the HTS-led interim government has an “agenda” to address the “PKK/YPG” but promised that “Turkey will” take action if others—presumably HTS—fail to do so. HTS and Turkey have coordinated in recent weeks [to try] to coerce the SDF into disarming and integrating into the HTS-led defense apparatus.
January 11, 2025: Turkey continued to support SNA operations to isolate SDF elements along the Euphrates River ahead of the possible offensive.
January 12, 2025: Interim Syrian Foreign Affairs Minister Asaad al Shaibani met with Arab and Western foreign ministers in Riyadh on January 12. Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Faisal bin Farhan promised aid to Syria and emphasized the importance of lifting sanctions in his meeting with Shaibani. Shaibani held separate meetings with Bahraini Foreign Affairs Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al Zayani, British Foreign Affairs Minister David Lamy, and UN envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen. Shaibani also met with Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Hakan Fidan.
Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Hakan Fidan called on the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to dissolve while speaking at the Riyadh summit on January 12. Fidan said that the SDF must declare its dissolution if it is ”sincere” in its efforts to integrate into the Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS)-led interim government. Fidan emphasized that Turkey is prepared to take “more responsibility” in managing the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)-controlled camps in SDF-held territory in northeastern Syria. Fidan’s remarks come amid recent Turkish and HTS coordination to coerce the SDF into disarming and integrating into the HTS-led defense apparatus. Turkish officials have repeatedly threatened to launch a military operation to “destroy” the SDF if it fails to disarm.
An overtly advertised Turkish-backed SNA offensive against the U.S.-backed SDF should explain what has both the Americans and the Israelis so worried. The gloves are coming off, and “the iron fist of the state (Turkey)” is now in plain view. Has the failed U.S.-backed assassination/coup attempt against Erdoğan in 2016, which drove Turkey into Russian arms over the ongoing S-400 and F-35 standoff already been forgotten?
Is this why the Israelis have stepped up ISIS attacks to try “to stoke sectarian tensions and delegitimize HTS as the primary ruling power in Syria”? The Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS)-led Syrian interim government announced that it thwarted an attempted Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) attack on a prominent Shia shrine outside Damascus. The Syrian Interior Ministry announced on January 11 the arrest of ISIS members who were planning a suicide bombing attack at the Sayyidah Zeinab shrine.
Is this also why the Iraqis are seeking to expedite the expulsion of U.S. forces in Iraq?
The U.S. has illegally built at least 5 military bases inside Syria to continue supporting the SDF, and they appear to be working on a 6th U.S. base in Kobani, while looking at other options to relocate their Incirlik strategic airbase, amid growing tensions between Washington and Ankara. And, of course, this military infrastructure is necessary to protect the U.S. controlled oilfields in NE Syria and NW Iraq.
For those who may question the possibility of Turkey and Iran working together against U.S. and Israeli interests in the region, are they not already very effectively working together to divide the focus of Israeli attacks and to undermine both U.S. and Israeli foreign policy in Syria and Iraq? It isn’t as if officials from Turkey and Iran haven’t met on multiple occasions to discuss joint strategies on how to deal with U.S.-backed Israeli aggression since the October 7, 2023 false flag.
November 1, 2023: Iran FM meets Turkish counterpart In Ankara to discuss Israeli war on Gaza
The two foreign ministers held a meeting behind closed doors in the Turkish capital on Wednesday, to exchange views on finding a solution to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and an immediate end to the Israeli crimes in Gaza, as they discuss the latest developments in the region and some issues of mutual interest.
January 25, 2024: Turkey And Iran Try To Find Common Ground Amid Complexities
Raisi and Erdogan likely addressed Ankara’s concerns about Kurdish groups viewed as “terrorists” in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria during their meeting. The bilateral talks also touched upon the impasse in Gaza, where [counterfeit]-Israel continues its operations against Hamas, a client of Iran and a friend of Turkey.
September 7, 2024: Turkey’s Erdogan calls for Islamic alliance against Israel
“The only step that will stop Israeli arrogance, Israeli banditry, and Israeli state terrorism is the alliance of Islamic countries,” Erdogan said at an Islamic schools’ association event near Istanbul.
He said recent steps that Turkey has taken to improve ties with Egypt and Syria are aimed at “forming a line of solidarity against the growing threat of expansionism,” which he said also threatened Lebanon and Syria.
October 19, 2024: In a meeting with Iranian FM: Turkish president underlines the need to expand ties with Iran
Araghchi stressed that Iran and Turkey, as two big and influential neighbors in the region and the Muslim world, share an opinion on the serious threat posed by the Zionist regime’s boundless aggression and crimes to the security and stability of the region.
December 19, 2024: Turkey, Iran leaders call for unity in Syria at Muslim summit in Cairo
The leaders of Turkey and Iran called on Thursday for unity in Syria at a summit of eight Muslim-majority countries after the ouster of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad.
While the present-day relations between Russia and Turkey may at times seem tenuous, particularly given what is presently transpiring in Syria, there are alliances between the two countries that tell a different story. Turkey has made an official bid to join BRICS. Turkey did choose to purchase the Russian S-400 air-defense system over remaining in the U.S. F-35 program (as both a fellow NATO customer and a parts manufacturer). Turkey has opposed Western sanctions on Russia and has hopes of offering Russia a gas route into Europe to replace the recent shutdown of Russian gas through Ukraine.
There’s also the new Iranian-Russian partnership to consider, which “has far-reaching implications, particularly for defence, trade, and energy”, as well as common enemies: the West, i.e. the U.S. and U.K., and the AshkeNAZI-Israelis. Also reported is The Turkey-Russia-Iran Nexus, which points out:
“To some degree similarities unite these three countries now more than ever—the challenge of rising middle class disaffection, aspirations for regional dominance, and resentment of U.S. hegemony — and threaten to create new, sustained alignment.”
It’s understood that Turkey has been walking a tight-rope between the East and the West, believing that “patience brings victory”. But the time is coming, if it isn’t already here, where Turkey will need to decide between the two. And based on the available evidence, including Biblical prophecy which is NEVER wrong, Turkey has already made up its mind and is taking on its designated role in preparing the way for the East to defeat the West.