Israel Matzav

So much for Turkey's good neighborhood policy

Remember how Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu wanted to have good relations with all his neighbors, and therefore was cozying up to Iran and Syria? Well, so much for that. Both Iran and Syria attacked Turkey (verbally) on Saturday. This is from the first link.

A senior commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard says the country will target NATO's missile defense shield in Turkey if the US or Israel attacks the Islamic Republic.

Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Guards' aerospace division, is quoted by the semiofficial Mehr news agency as saying the warning is part of a new defense strategy to counter what it sees as an increase in threats from the US and Israel.

...

"Should we be threatened, we will target NATO's missile defense shield in Turkey and then hit the next targets," the semiofficial Mehr news agency quoted Hajizadeh as saying.

Tehran says NATO's early warning radar station in Turkey is meant to protect Israel against Iranian missile attacks if a war breaks out with the Jewish state. Ankara agreed to host the radar in September as part of NATO's missile defense system aimed at countering ballistic missile threats from neighboring Iran.

And this is from the second link:

Syrian President Bashar Assad lashed out at his Turkish critics on Saturday, remarking that "some in Turkey are still clinging to the dream of reinstating the Ottoman Empire."

The Turkish leaders, he added, "Know that this dream is impossible, so they are trying to exploit parties with a religious agenda to expand their influence on the Arab world."

Speaking to the Arabic-language website Arab Press, Assad called on his supporters not to vandalize any Turkish symbols: "I ask you – don't burn Turkish flags. The Turkish people are a proud nation."

Maybe Davutoglu will reconsider his reaction to the Mavi Marmara next. Heh.

Labels: Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:36 AM