Key facts
- Israeli media outlet Kan 11 reported Turkey was prepared to provide aerial military support to Iran.
- Ankara reportedly warned it would intervene to prevent a Kurdish incursion into Iran.
- US President Donald Trump claimed he urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stay out of the conflict.
- A broader Israeli-US plan reportedly involved supporting a Kurdish incursion into Iran to topple the government.
- Israeli officials view Turkey's expanding regional influence and its relationship with Trump as a growing concern.
Israeli media has reported that Turkey was prepared to offer Iran aerial military support during the recent Israeli-US war on Iran, a move that could have significantly altered the conflict's dynamics. According to a report by Israeli broadcaster Kan 11, Ankara had warned it would intervene to prevent Kurdish militias from invading Iran, potentially derailing an Israeli-US plan conceived months before the war began in February.
Sources cited by Kan 11 indicated that Turkey came close to intervening, with the possibility of providing Iran with aerial defense against Israeli and US airstrikes being discussed. This claim is linked to recent statements by US President Donald Trump, who has asserted that he discouraged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from entering the war. Trump stated that Turkey "could have gotten into the fight" but "stayed out" possibly due to his intervention.
Trump has previously suggested he prevented Erdogan, whom he referred to as "my friend," from joining the conflict. Last month, Trump told reporters that Erdogan was a "prime candidate to go into the war with Iran" and that he had asked him to "stay out."
Amidst the ongoing exchanges of strikes between the US and Iran, tensions between Israel and Turkey have also appeared to escalate. Israeli officials have increasingly viewed Ankara as a growing threat to their national security. Earlier reports suggested Turkey thwarted an Israeli-US-backed Kurdish invasion of Iran, disrupting months of planning by the Mossad and CIA. The New York Times also reported that the proposed Israeli-US plan included reinstating former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Beyond the reported intervention, Israeli officials are reportedly uneasy about the close relationship between Erdogan, a vocal critic of Israel, and Trump, seeing it as a sign of Turkey's expanding regional and international influence. Right-wing Israeli media have warned that Turkey's influence now extends beyond the Eastern Mediterranean and Syria to Africa, citing Ankara's military presence, economic investments, and diplomatic initiatives.