The Turkish Explosion
• It is difficult for any observer of the Turkish situation to accept the Turkish government's shallow narrative that the legal pursuit of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoglu on corruption and bribery charges was merely a technical judicial matter.
• The eruption in Turkish streets in response to these legal and security developments reveals a deeper political divide – one that had long been simmering and merely awaited a spark. It also underscores the pivotal role that the Syrian crisis and its repercussions play in this division.
• At the heart of this divide is the split within Turkey's traditional Islamist movement. On one side, the New Welfare Party champions support for Gaza and accuses President Recep Erdogan's government of secretly aiding the occupying entity economically. It questions why Turkey has not followed the example of non-Islamic nations like Bolivia and Colombia in severing ties with the entity, despite their geographical and political distance from Palestine. On the other side, Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) pursues a neo-Ottoman agenda, using Syria as an entry point within international and regional frameworks that do not provoke the United States or Israel – an approach reinforced by the post-war dynamics in Syria.
• For weeks, it seemed that the AKP's bet on this strategy was paying off. However, complications emerged as major Turkish corporations realised that the promised economic boom, driven by grand reconstruction projects in Syria, had evaporated. There was no Arab or European funding, no genuine lifting of sanctions, and the financial bubble that had formed around these expectations quickly collapsed. With Turkey's economy already suffocating, Syria had appeared to be the last viable escape route – one that has now closed.
• Meanwhile, events on Syria's coast have deepened Turkey's internal divisions. The Turkish Alevi community, expressing solidarity with the victims of massacres in Syria's coastal region, has been vocally calling for Turkish intervention in a manner befitting a secular state. In stark contrast, the neo-Ottoman fascist faction within Turkey insists on shielding the Damascus government from any criticism, seeing its survival as crucial to legitimising their broader neo-Ottoman ambitions.
• It is clear that the opposing forces within Turkey are mobilising all their strengths for a decisive confrontation at this critical historical moment. A growing alignment appears to be forming between Islamist factions supporting Gaza, opponents of neo-Ottoman fascism, and Kurdish, Alevi, and secular groups – an alliance poised for a defining battle that will not only shape Turkey's future but also determine the course of its regional interventions, starting with Syria.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Nahar Net
11 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Assad cousin arrested in Lebanon border ambush
Syrian authorities arrested Wassim al-Assad, a cousin of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, the interior ministry said Saturday, in one of the most high-profile arrests since the former president's ouster. Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia in December with only a handful of confidants, abandoning senior officials and security officers, some of whom have reportedly fled to neighboring countries or taken refuge in the coastal heartland of Assad's Alawite minority. An interior ministry statement said that intelligence services and other authorities managed to "lure the criminal Wassim al-Assad", carrying out a "well-planned ambush that resulted in his successful arrest". He is "considered among the most prominent drug traffickers and people involved in a number of crimes during the period of the former regime", the statement said, without elaborating on the other allegations against him. While Wassim al-Assad did not hold high office, he is the first prominent figure from the Assad family to be arrested since Islamist-led forces toppled the government on December 8, ending five decades of one-family rule. The U.S. Treasury sanctioned him in 2023, saying he had led a paramilitary unit and was "a key figure in the regional drug trafficking network". State news agency SANA, citing an unidentified security source in Homs province, said Wassim al-Assad was arrested on the Syria-Lebanon border. A security source, requesting anonymity, told AFP he was arrested Saturday in the Tal Kalakh area, in Homs province near the frontier. In recent years, Wassim al-Assad, who called himself a "customs broker", posted images of himself on social media near luxury cars, sometimes appearing in military clothing and bearing arms or shooting, at times alongside other armed men. Since taking power, the new authorities have occasionally announced the arrest of Assad-era security and other officials. In April, Syrian authorities said security forces had arrested Sultan al-Tinawi, a former officer in the feared air force intelligence, one of the Assad family's most trusted security agencies.
Al Manar
14 hours ago
- Al Manar
Iran FM Holds Key Meetings on Sidelines of OIC Conference in Istanbul
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Saturday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul. Erdogan urged countries with influence over Israel not to listen to its 'poison' and to seek a solution to the fighting via dialogue without allowing a wider conflict. Erdogan also affirmed readiness to mediate talks aimed at resolving the nuclear dispute. The Iranian minister also met with the Qatari prime minister, who renewed the Israeli aggression on Iran, highlighting the diplomatic means to reach de-escalation. Earlier, Araghchi met with his Iraqi and Egyptian counterpart on the sidelines an OIC meeting in Istanbul. The Arab League's foreign ministers convened in Istanbul to discuss developments related to conflicts in the Middle East, especially Israel's attacks on Iran that began June 13. The ministers are in the Turkish metropolis for the 51st session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers, scheduled for June 21 – 22.
Nahar Net
2 days ago
- Nahar Net
Israel and Iran launch new strikes even as diplomatic effort gets underway
by Naharnet Newsdesk 20 June 2025, 13:56 Israel and Iran exchanged strikes a week into their war Friday as President Donald Trump weighed U.S. military involvement and new diplomatic efforts got underway. Trump has been weighing whether to attack Iran by striking its well-defended Fordo uranium enrichment facility, which is buried under a mountain and widely considered to be out of reach of all but America's "bunker-buster" bombs. He said he'll decide within two weeks whether the U.S. military will get directly involved in the war given the "substantial chance" for renewed negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi appeared to be en route to Geneva for meetings with the European Union's top diplomat and counterparts from the United Kingdom, France and Germany. A plane with his usual call sign took off from the Turkish city of Van, near the Iranian border, flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24 showed. Iran typically acknowledges his departure hours afterward. Britain's foreign secretary said he met at the White House with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss the potential for a deal that could cool the conflict. Before his flight, Araghchi said on Iranian state television that his country was "not seeking negotiations with anyone" as long as Israel's attacks continued, underscoring the diplomatic challenges ahead. He also accused the U.S. of collaborating with Israel, noting that Trump regularly used "we" in social media posts and interviews talking about the attacks on Iran. "It is the Americans who want talks," he said in comments Thursday that were broadcast Friday. "They've sent messages several times — very serious ones — but we made it explicitly clear to them that as long as this aggression and invasion continue, there is absolutely no room for talk or diplomacy. We are engaged in legitimate self-defense, and this defense will not stop under any circumstances." He added that he expected the Switzerland talks to focus only on Iran's nuclear program, and that Iran's missile capabilities were "for defending the country" and not up for discussion. French President Emmanuel Macron said top European diplomats in Geneva will make a "comprehensive, diplomatic and technical offer of negotiation" to Iran, as a key response to the "threat" represented by Iran's nuclear program. "No one can seriously believe that this threat can be met with (Israel's) current operations alone," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Paris Air Show, saying some plants are heavily fortified and nobody knows exactly where all uranium enrichment is taking place. "We need to regain control on (Iran's nuclear) program through technical expertise and negotiation." Iran had previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors in to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the U.S., France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief and other provisions. After Trump pulled the U.S. unilaterally out of the deal during his last term, however, Iran began enriching uranium to higher levels and limiting access to its facilities. Israel says air campaign will target more sites Israel said it conducted airstrikes into Friday morning in Iran with more than 60 aircraft hitting what it said were industrial sites to manufacture missiles. It did not elaborate on the locations. It also said it hit the headquarters of Iran's Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, known by its acronym in Farsi, SPND. The U.S. in the past has linked that agency to alleged Iranian research and testing tied to the possible development of nuclear explosive devices. It also carried out airstrikes targeting the areas around Kermanshah and Tabriz in western Iran, where the military said 25 fighter jets struck "missile storage and launch infrastructure components" Friday morning. There had been reports of anti-aircraft fire in the areas. Iran did not immediately acknowledge the losses, and has not discussed the damage done so far to its military in the weeklong war. "We are strengthening our air control in the region and advancing our air offensive," Israeli military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told reporters. "We have more sites to strike in Tehran, western Iran and other places." Israeli airstrikes also reached into the city of Rasht on the Caspian Sea early Friday, Iranian media reported. The Israeli military had warned the public to flee the area around Rasht's Industrial City, southwest of the city's downtown. But with Iran's internet shut off to the outside world, it's unclear just how many people could see the message. Damage from missiles in southern Israel In Israel, the paramedic service Magen David Adom said Iranian missiles struck a residential area in southern Israel causing damage to buildings, including one six-story building. They have provided medical treatment to five people with minor injuries such as bruises, smoke inhalation, and anxiety, it said. This comes a day after at least 80 patients and medical workers were wounded in a strike on the Soroka Medical Center in the southern city of Beersheba. On Thursday, Israel's defense minister threatened Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after the Iranian missile crashed into the hospital. Israel's military "has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist," Defense Minister Israel Katz said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he trusted that Trump would "do what's best for America." Speaking from the rubble and shattered glass around the hospital, he added: "I can tell you that they're already helping a lot." The war between Israel and Iran erupted June 13, with Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 657 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,000 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel's multitiered air defenses, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. But it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Israel is widely believed to be the only Middle Eastern country with a nuclear weapons program but has never acknowledged it. The Israeli air campaign has targeted Iran's enrichment site at Natanz, centrifuge workshops around Tehran, a nuclear site in Isfahan and what the army assesses to be most of Iran's ballistic missile launchers. The destruction of those launchers has contributed to the steady decline in Iranian attacks since the start of the conflict.
