Speaking to Hawzah News Agency in Tehran, Ziya Turk Yilmaz, a Turkish affairs expert, said recent developments have prompted policymakers and analysts in Turkey to reassess regional realities. He pointed to the firm positions taken by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan during recent developments and the imposed 12-day war, noting that countries across the region have come to realize that the Israeli regime is not invincible.
Yilmaz underlined that Iran has stood its ground against both the United States and the Israeli regime and ultimately compelled them to accept a ceasefire. “For years, neighboring countries adopted extremely cautious positions out of fear of Washington and Tel Aviv,” he said. “Today, however, there are clear signs that this approach is changing.”
According to the analyst, Iran’s ability to resist Western pressure has encouraged other regional actors to reconsider their own strategic calculations. “If Iran can confront hegemonic Western powers, there is no reason other countries should see resistance as impossible,” he said, adding that recent diplomatic engagements among Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey should be viewed within this framework.
He noted that discussions are underway among several regional states regarding the formation of a new collective defense arrangement. “Iran is a central pillar of regional security and cannot be sidelined in any future security architecture,” Yilmaz emphasized.
The Turkish analyst also highlighted Ankara’s growing awareness of Western priorities in West Asia. “Turkey has realized that the primary objective of the United States and its allies is the preservation of the occupying Israeli regime,” he said. “From the war on Gaza to developments in Syria, it has become evident that the West offers unconditional support to this regime and seeks to give it a free hand in the region.”
Yilmaz stressed that these realities are impossible for Turkey to ignore, despite its membership in NATO. “Although Turkey is formally part of the Western bloc, it remains exposed and vulnerable in the face of the Israeli regime,” he said, pointing out that advanced defense systems and F-35 fighter jets have not been delivered to Ankara.
He added that while Turkey provided logistical assistance to the US and the Israeli regime during the process of regime change in Syria, it now perceives its own national security to be at risk. “Turkish analysts have therefore concluded that undermining Iran would directly undermine Turkey itself,” Yilmaz said.
“A strong Iran benefits Turkey and the entire region,” he concluded. “The increasingly explicit positions taken by Turkish officials, particularly the foreign minister, demonstrate that Ankara is acting out of concern for its own security. Turkey now sees Iran’s security as inseparable from its own, and any weakening of Iran as a direct threat to Turkey’s stability.”
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