Ankara’s handling of the Iran war has strengthened its foreign policy standing while helping deflect domestic criticism and portray political opposition as a liability in a volatile region. The risk is that Türkiye’s geopolitical leverage is used to consolidate political power rather than strengthen national capacity.
The Iran war has pushed Europe and the Gulf into closer strategic alignment, driven by shared concerns over energy security, maritime stability, and overreliance on the United States. Yet the same structural dependencies and political divisions that make cooperation necessary may also limit how far it can go.