Writing at the New York Post, Jonathan Schanzer warns: "Beware Turkey’s ambitions in the post-Iran power vacuum." He points out:
Tehran has for years projected power by proxy across the Middle East, sponsoring terrorist groups like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Shiite militias in Iraq, and other malign actors across the region.
Should the regime collapse, other aspiring regional powers will seek to fill the void.
And while many countries may think regional leadership is theirs to inherit, there is one powerful player to watch: the Republic of Turkey.
The country has the second-largest army in NATO.
It has a growing drone industry and a government-tied military contractor, SADAT, that is training and arming militias across the Muslim world.
Concurrently, Ankara has been cultivating terrorist proxies in the Middle East for years.
The Turks are key patrons of Hamas, dating back nearly two decades, and are now trying to ensure their participation in the Gaza peace effort — despite opposition from the Israelis, who are wary of Ankara’s intentions.
But the Turks are deployed elsewhere, too.
Ankara is now supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon.
It’s the primary patron of the new Syrian regime, led by former al-Qaeda leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, making Syria a forward base with key military and intelligence platforms.
That’s to say nothing of Turkey’s longstanding military deployments in Northern Iraq, Somalia, Qatar and more.
In short, Ankara has blanketed the region, leaving it well positioned to fill the void left by the Islamic Republic.
And from an eschatological perspective, I would also note that Turkey is one of the leading candidates for the land of Gog and Magog.
They will stand up to Israel like Iran.
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