Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pushing back against what he calls a deliberate Israeli campaign to paint Turk...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pushing back against what he calls a deliberate Israeli campaign to paint Turkey as a regional threat, telling Newsweek the narrative is tied to Israel's domestic politics and electoral climate rather than any real danger Ankara poses. Erdogan's remarks come as tensions between Ankara and Tel Aviv have reached a new level of friction. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Erdogan a "tyrant" complicit in seeking Israel's destruction during his UN General Assembly address, and the two governments have traded increasingly sharp rhetoric for months. The most concrete flashpoint between them is Syria. Turkey backed Ahmad al-Sharaa's new Damascus government after Assad fell, and Israeli warplanes struck a Turkish military base in Idlib just hours after a Turkish military delegation reportedly left the site. Unexplained explosions have continued to hit arms depots across Syria since, including one in Aleppo last week. Erdogan was direct about Israel's military operations in Syria, saying the strikes disregard international law and are making it harder to stabilize the country. He stopped short of threatening war, saying Turkey does not build its foreign policy around "inevitable war scenarios." The broader rivalry between Turkey and Israel is now reshaping alliances across the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey recently signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Israel responded by finalizing a major defense deal with Greece, the so-called "Achilles' Shield," which would cover all of Greek territory including Aegean islands sitting directly off Turkey's coast. Erdogan said he does not view every bilateral defense relationship as a threat, but added that Turkey closely monitors any actions that could affect its national security, rights, and interests. Greece and Turkey have disputed territorial and energy rights in the Mediterranean for decades and remain divided over Cyprus, whose northern half has been under Turkish-backed administration since the 1974 invasion. #Erdogan #Turkey #EasternMediterranean