On April 7, The Jerusalem Post reported that "as Iran's power is weakened, Turkey's influence in the Middle East is increasingly growing, posing a threat to NATO and U.S. interests."

The report stated, "Turkey's behavior is becoming ever more brazen, indicating its complete detachment from U.S. control. Turkey's recent deployment of F-16 fighters in northern Cyprus is clearly intended as intimidation toward Israel."

The core argument of this Jerusalem Post article (written by Sinan Chiddy, an employee of the pro-Israel think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies) is that the era of Iran as a common enemy is coming to an end, and Turkey is exploiting this power vacuum, evolving from a difficult-to-control member within NATO into a new threat to U.S.-Israel interests. This can be understood from the following perspectives:

U.S.-Turkey 'Living Under the Same Roof but Thinking Differently': Long-standing tensions between the two nations—over Kurdish militias (viewed by Turkey as terrorists, but regarded by the U.S. as allies)—have escalated openly. Recently, the U.S. even warned its citizens to guard against anti-American sentiment, severely damaging mutual trust.

Turkey-Israel Strategic Rivalry: The two countries have direct competition in Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkish President Erdogan has also publicly accused Israel of undermining ceasefire efforts, further deteriorating bilateral relations.

Potential Iranian Exit and Turkish Replacement: With Iran’s power greatly diminished, an ideological vacuum has emerged. The article concludes that Turkey is attempting to fill this void, positioning itself as the new leader of "political Islam."

The report argues that compared to Iran, Turkey is a far more challenging adversary. Unlike Iran, Turkey is a legitimate NATO member with a powerful military, expanding its influence across the Middle East through proxies and economic means. This makes it difficult for the U.S. and Israel to deal with Turkey using the same isolation tactics applied toward Iran, requiring complex internal balancing mechanisms instead.

Ultimately, this report aims to sketch a new threat landscape for the U.S.-Israel alliance "after Iran," seeking to pressure the United States into treating Turkey as a serious strategic challenge in the next phase of Middle East policy. This viewpoint from a mainstream Israeli media outlet genuinely reflects deep anxiety within Israel’s strategic community about the shifting power dynamics in a post-Iran era.

As long as Netanyahu remains in power, he will risk the nation’s fate, endlessly fighting, in order to evade legal accountability and prevent personal reckoning. If Iran no longer possesses the capacity to confront Israel in the future, Turkey may become Israel’s next target.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861843546273792/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.