Time to draw lessons on how to stop Israel

Israel has launched a wave of air strikes on Iran, hitting military leaders, nuclear and military sites overnight on 13th June. Iran retaliated by striking Tel Aviv, Haifa and several military and strategic targets in Israel.

The war is tending to escalate further, with no sign of compromise in sight for now.

UWI author, historian and political scientist Associate Professor Mehmet Perinçek shared his evaluations with us, emphasizing lessons to be drawn both for Türkiye and the broader region in the face of the Israeli aggression.

It is right time to take some lessons from all this.

“Only” negotiations go nowhere

First, it’s clear that without establishing a proper power to counterbalance the aggression, negotiations with the imperialist West and Israel go nowhere. The US used talks to stall Iran and stop it from responding forcefully. Israel, in turn, partly taking encouragement from that, launched its attack.

Second, for Türkiye, one most important takeaway is the lack of a comprehensive strategy, and how much one is needed.

“Policy of balance” emboldens Israel’s aggression

One thing that emboldens Israel’s aggression is Türkiye’s so-called “policy of balance,” which, in reality, leans more and more toward the Atlantic bloc. Türkiye’s missteps in Syria in particular have played right into Israel’s hands. Interestingly, the timeline of Israel preparing this latest strike on Iran matches up with the period of Assad’s fall. Russia and Iran were both sidelined in Syria, the resistance axis was broken, and a figure like Ahmed al-Sharaa who openly talked about having “common enemies” with Israel was put in power. Israel expanded its occupation inside Syria. Note that just about ten days ago, Sharaa gave an interview to Israeli media saying they could work with Israel for security in the region. One mistake snowballed into another, and now we’re seeing how it has opened the door wide for Israeli aggression. Israel carried out this last strike by tearing through Syrian airspace.

Third, we need to take a look at how the Turkish government has been reacting. Yes, there are statements condemning Israel, but without saying anything more than what Trump says. When it comes to the US, the Turkish government only seems to care about the “negotiating table” Trump talks about.

Wasn’t the “America First”?

The US’s role here is so clear. It gave Israel both military and material backing for the attack. And when Iran struck back, the US stood by Israel again. Here’s something worth pointing out: even inside Trump’s own circle, there are voices pushing back against deeper US involvement in the conflict. Take Tucker Carlson, for example. Some ask, “Wasn’t ‘America First’ Our slogan? Why are we doing all this for Israel?” And yet, all the Turkish government can say is that Trump’s “negotiating table” matters. What Trump means by “negotiation” is nothing but a cover for forcing Iran into surrender. The conditions he is demanding aren’t even remotely acceptable to Iran. This whole talk of negotiation is a sham, a ruse. And what’s worse, the Turkish government is playing middleman in that ruse. This path will never stop Israeli aggression.

A short parenthesis for Trump. In some ways, he’s being set up. The hawks and pro-Israel forces around him are dragging him deeper into this war. And remember, Trump came to power promising to end all wars. But there’s been no progress, neither in Ukraine nor in West Asia. These are all developments that undermine his “America First” motto.

US’ military presence in Türkiye and intelligence to Israel

There’s also the issue of US’ military presence in Türkiye. The Kürecik and İncirlik bases. Even though there are claims that no intelligence is being shared from these bases with Israel, experts have been clear: Türkiye has no mechanism in place to actually prevent this. The intel gathered at these bases is passed on to the Ramstein base in Germany, where there isn’t a single Turkish official involved. From there, it’s all too easy and entirely likely for that data to be shared with Israel. Here lies another lesson. As long as those bases are active on Turkish soil, stopping Israeli aggression will be impossible.

Türkiye in the “European security architecture”?

Another key point for Türkiye has to do with its stance toward the EU. Recently, the Turkish government has started pushing again for EU membership and taking part in building a “European security architecture”. But just look at the EU’s response to Israel’s attack on Iran: full support. Is Türkiye seriously going to build a “security” system against Eurasia in cooperation with Israel’s biggest backers? This EU policy of the government is a dead end.

A real alliance within Eurasia

Then there’s the issue of Gaza and Palestine. It’s become painfully clear that condemnations and humanitarian aid don’t cut it. None of it has slowed down the aggression of Israel and imperialist forces behind. The only thing that could stop Israel is a real alliance within Eurasia. But Türkiye’s approach to Palestine goes no further than issuing condemnations and calling on the so-called “international community”, which, should be understood nothing else, as the US itself.

For all oppressed nations, another critical lesson is the importance of having a strong military and an independent defense industry. You can’t defend yourself without them.

In the same vein, keeping the home front strong is vital. The US and Israel aren’t just hitting Iran with missiles, they’re actively working to topple its government. You can see it in the media. Watch CNN: they’re clearly trying to stir unrest, to turn the Iranian people against their leadership. They’re using puppets like the Pahlavi family to try to create division from within.

Essentially parts of one single, unified front

Türkiye needs to understand that the different fronts it’s facing, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Aegean, Syria, and the Black Sea, are essentially parts of one single, unified front. That’s the foreign policy dimension of the comprehensive strategy I mentioned earlier. The fact that Israel chooses to station its aircraft in places like southern Cyprus and Greece shows that the anti-Türkiye alliance in the Eastern Mediterranean is also aimed at Palestine and Iran. Now, turn your eyes north to the Black Sea. Ukraine’s role here mirrors Israel’s role in Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean. One can see that in the tactics used in recent Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia. They’re the same tactics used in attacks deep inside Iran. Coordinated drone operations launched from within the country alongside external strikes and effort to overwhelm the internal defense systems. We saw a near-identical version of this in Russia just two weeks ago. Same tactics. Same tech. It’s solid proof that Israeli and Ukrainian aggression is being backed by the same power. And it confirms what I’ve been saying: these aren’t separate fronts, but they are just different parts of a single, unified front.