Eurasia Press & News
During his 22-year reign, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has expanded Turkey’s power militarily in hot wars in Libya and Nagorno-Karabagh. Most recently, decades of methodical planning and quiet preparation culminated in forces that President Trump openly acknowledged were “[Erdoğan’s] surrogates”[1] sweeping into Damascus in December 2024, capturing the government there. In September of this year, within the framework of a security agreement between Turkey and Syria, the Turkish military began to train Syrian police and military personnel.[2]
President Erdoğan has never designated Hamas as a terrorist organization and has instead for years welcomed its leadership and hosted its offices, including the operational offices of the ‘Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, headed by Saleh Al-Arouri, who was killed in a January 2, 2024 Israeli strike.[3] Since Hamas committed its massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, the rhetoric of Erdoğan, his senior officials, and his media, which have always been hostile to Israel, have grown more alarming, suggesting the possibility of an impending Turkish attack on Israel.
President Erdoğan: “Oh Israel… The Moment Of Your Death Is Coming – Have As Many Nuclear Bombs As You Want, Have Whatever You Want – You’re A Goner”
At a pro-Palestine rally in Istanbul on October 28, 2023, two weeks after Hamas’ October 7 attack, in the context of discussing Israel, President Erdoğan quoted a popular song whose lyrics he has used in the past to presage Turkish military operations in Iraq and Syria, saying: “We may come suddenly one night.”[4] A few weeks later, on November 15, he said: “Oh Israel; you have an atom bomb, a nuclear bomb – and you are threatening [others] with it. We know this. And now the moment of your death is coming. Have as many nuclear bombs as you want. Have whatever you want. You’re a goner.”[5] On July 28, 2024, referring to Turkish military operations in other countries, President Erdoğan said: “Just as we entered [Nagorno] Karabakh, and just as we entered Libya, we will do something similar to [Israel]. There is no [reason] not to.”[6]
Erdoğan’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who, as head of the Turkish intelligence agency Milli Istihbarat Teşkilatı (MİT) from 2010 to 2023, likely directed much of the groundwork in preparation for Turkey’s December 2024 takeover of Damascus, said in an August 9, 2025 speech: “There has never been a place over which cruelty and the tyrant reigned for long; there is no example of such a thing in history. The tyrant will be erased from history along with his cruelty. You will see this happen to Netanyahu as well.”[7] On December 30, 2024, in the weeks following the takeover of Damascus, Ahmet Yiğit Yıldırım, leader of the Ülkü Ocakları (“Idealist Hearths”) also known as the Bozkurtlar (“Grey Wolves”), an organization that has for years supported the Turkish military on the battlefields of Syria and Azerbaijan,[8] said: “We all saw the reflection in Syria of our leader’s words ‘we may come suddenly one night.’ We all saw together in Syria what could happen in one night. And so, Turkey is no longer the old Turkey… After Damascus is stabilized and assured, inshallah, we will all see that the conquest of Jerusalem is near.”[9]
“Who Can Guarantee That Those Who Today Have Their Eye On Lebanon Will Not Tomorrow Extend Their Filthy Hands Elsewhere?”
In the meantime, Erdoğan is preparing the Turkish public with justifications for such an attack. On July 30, 2024, amid Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, he said: “Who can guarantee that those who today have their eye on Lebanon will not tomorrow extend their filthy hands elsewhere?”[10] On October 1, he warned that Israeli policies threaten Turkey specifically: “Israel’s aggression also includes Turkey.”[11] On June 18, 2025, he connected this aggressive stance to Ottoman history by saying: “We are following very closely Israel’s terror attacks on Iran… The victorious army of the Ottoman State had a principle: ‘If you desire peace, be prepared for war.'”[12] On June 24, he said: “Global actors must take effective measures to end Israel’s madness.”[13] In the same month he sought to discourage other countries from supplying Israel, saying: “Those countries that are giving Israel arms and munitions should give up being a partner in this crime.”[14] On July 4, he said: “Israel’s policies threaten the tranquility and stability of our region.”[15] His government accuses Israel of genocide in Gaza,[16] has called a raid on a flotilla “piracy,”[17] and on August 8, Turkish Communications Minister Burhanettin Duran said: “The conscience of the world is strong enough to stop and defeat Israel.”[18]
Erdoğan is not content with rhetoric but is taking concrete action against Israel. Turkey was Israel’s fifth-largest supplier in 2024 until in May of that year it ended all exports to and imports from the country.[19] In August 2025, Turkey banned Israeli vessels from its ports, forbade Turkish ships from entering Israeli ports, and restricted its airspace to Israeli aircraft.[20] His government has allowed Iranian guns and money to move through Istanbul to the Houthis in Yemen.[21] It is taking steps to prepare for war with Israel: Following the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June of this year, the Turkish intelligence agency MİT released a 58-page report that, among other things, recommends the strengthening of Turkish air defense, the further development of the country’s domestic arms industry, and the construction of shelters in major Turkish cities.[22] Based on these recommendations, planning has begun for the construction of long-term shelters in all of Turkey’s 81 provinces.[23] The country also unveiled over the summer powerful new Gazap (“Wrath”) and Hayalet (“Ghost”) bunker-busters that it has developed and manufactured.[24]
Turkish Media List Specific Military Targets In Israel
Turkish media, which Erdoğan’s government tightly controls,[25] also signal the government’s increasingly hostile position toward Israel by discussing concrete military considerations. GZT.com, which describes itself as Turkey’s largest digital media brand and on whose program Erdoğan himself has appeared,[26] released on June 24, 2025, a video titled “Israel’s Soft Underbelly: What Regions, If Struck, Will Cause Israel To Falter?” The video lists targets in Israel – the Urim, Tel Nof, and Netafim bases – allegedly housing the construction of the Arrow missile defense system, Unit 8200, tank and artillery munitions depots, and “critical elements” like F-15s, special operations teams, and long-range drones. It specifically lists the Sdot Micha, whose existence is not formally acknowledged, as supposedly the site where nuclear warheads are placed on Eriha missiles, saying that “If [Sdot Micha] were struck, Israel’s deterrence could be shaken.”[27]
“Israel Will Have No Choice But To Kneel In Front Of Turkey”; “The Turkey-Israel War Is Now Unavoidable”; “Within Two Years We May Witness Extraordinary Things”; “Within One To Three Years There Will Be Such A War In This Region”; “We Do Not Want War, But We Will Strike First!”
Ibrahim Karagül is a Turkish journalist regularly described as pro-government who, from 2012 through the end of 2020, was editor-in-chief of the pro-government Yeni Şafak daily and can be seen in many photos with Erdoğan, including those taken inside Erdoğan’s private plane. Karagül’s rhetoric on Israel over the past year has been startling.
On January 13, 2025, he wrote: “We must sever the hand of Israel, which extends toward our borders… Israel should be afraid.”[28] On April 7: “The Turkey-Israel War is now unavoidable… [Israel] will kneel before Turkey… Israel has become an existential threat for Turkey… Within one to three years there will be such a war in this region.”[29] On April 23: “The Western power that gave Israel immunity has dispersed… Turkey is the owner and heir of Israel and will claim its right to that land… Let Israel do what it will; let it plan what agitations it will, it cannot neither stop nor alter the direction of this great change of history… These vain flailings will strike the wall of Turkey and disperse. Turkey will be on all of Israel’s borders, and if necessary it will imprison it in its home… Israel’s most correct preference may be to kneel in front of Turkey and seek refuge in it. This is the place where [all] this is leading. The Israelis will decide whether this [process] is bloody or bloodless.”[30]
On May 1: “Israel must be stopped… Israel is weak. It is powerless and fearful. The Western power behind it has dispersed. Its own power will last a week… asymmetric war and covert operations should be tried. That will probably be enough… The period of Israel’s suicide has begun… Israel will definitely pay a price. It may experience the wrath of Turkey!… I repeat: So long as Israel does not kneel, it will experience a great wrath coming from Turkey.”[31] On May 19: “The collapse of Israel should be commenced! It should lose its right to be a state… We will see Israel’s suicide!… Israel should be stopped and liquidated!… It should be disarmed and its military disbanded…. Israel should be removed from this region. Untried methods should be tried… Its history will not be long; Israel will be made to pay a heavy price.”[32] On May 21: “The span of Israel’s existence has ended. Within two years we may witness extraordinary things.”[33]
On June 16, following the 12 days of open war between Israel and Iran, he wrote: “Israel is Turkey’s problem too. It is waging an indirect war on Turkey in the entire region… Israel is an existential threat to Turkey.”[34] On June 18: “We are forced to strangle Israel in this region.”[35] On June 23: “The time has come to annihilate Israel… The U.S. and Europe…. will no longer enter big wars for Israel. They have no such possibility or luxury… Every country should make preparations to silence this nuclear weapon that has been placed in the middle of our region. Covert wars and attacks must be started now… Netanyahu and his team must be destroyed! Israel must be sacrificed to save humanity… Israel will last for one week from the moment it loses the support of the West, but the world could come to such a condition that even the support of the West is not enough to save Israel… Whatever is necessary to start the process of the annihilation of Israel should begin without wasting time.”[36] On June 30: “Israel should be removed from this region… The community of Israel should be removed from the family of humanity.”[37]
On July 9: “Israel is making threats now but it will either kneel or commit suicide… Turkey will no longer be a country that stays on ‘defense’!”[38] On July 16: “How is Israel threatening Turkey? Come and let’s make the list together… What happens today in Syria will happen tomorrow in Anatolia!”[39] On July 23: “Turkey should strike Israel!… We will strike first!… Turkey and Israel are going to settle their accounts sooner or later… This war will be inevitable… Israel should taste fear. The society of Israel should experience fear, and this fear should be felt in every country… We do not want war, but we will strike first!”[40] On July 28: “The community that will perish in the 21st century will be Israelis.”[41]
On August 22: “Armed attacks on Israel should be commenced!… Not only states, but societies and indeed individuals have an obligation to attack Israel… Wherever they go on earth, all Israelis who participate in genocide should be followed, prosecuted… and they should be chased out of those countries and regions. Right now, it is required that all of humanity, that every member of the human race, conduct armed retaliation against Israel.”[42] On September 10: “The Turkey-Israel War started long ago!… The Turkey-Israel War is ongoing in Gaza, Syria, the Mediterranean, Cyprus, the Aegean, in Libya, and east of the Euphrates.” In response to Israeli strikes in Qatar, he wrote: “The same may be done to Turkey, in which case Tel Aviv should be struck!”[43] On September 17: “Jews will drag all of humanity into a disaster. This must be stopped. We know; Israel is literally going into a suicide… Israel is not a state. Israel is a garrison. And the period of use of that garrison has ended. It will not be needed anymore. It will be pressed, it will contract, it will suffocate, and it will be pushed into the Mediterranean… Every type of struggle and war against Israel is a duty upon everyone, it is a requirement of being human. All means are permissible for this purpose.”[44] On September 22: “A process of annihilation has begun for Israel and it will not stop.”[45] On September 25: “An Israeli ship should sink in the Mediterranean! An Israeli plane should fall… The time has come to frighten Israel… Netanyahu should be annihilated with a missile… Geography is a weapon. We must besiege Israel not only in the Mediterranean, but on all of its land borders, accumulate hundreds of thousands of people on its borders, and strangle it in its house. And we will!”[46] On September 29: “It is time for Israel to turn to dust… Israel is a small state. It is a weak state. The Jews are a community of a handful. They lack the strength to last one week in a difficult war. A region that could fit in the palm of the hand could turn to dust in three days… If they are killing, chase them out of your countries. Chase them out of your cities. The time has come for hundreds of thousands of people to accumulate on the borders of Israel and enter the cities in waves.”[47]
On October 1: “We are forced to fight Israel. We are forced to send Netanyahu and his team out of this world, to bring Israel to its knees, to call the Jewish community to account for this barbarism… Israel can no longer win a war. It knows this.”[48] On October 6: “Israel has committed suicide. No one can save it now… It must be disciplined with war… War and power should make Israel kneel; the Jewish nation that is feeding its barbarism should be gotten under control… However ‘extreme’ it looks, a Turkey-Israel war will absolutely happen… If Israel continues in this way, there will be war! Turkey will not be patient!… Israel’s life is over. The Hagia Sophia is opened, and Jerusalem will be saved! Israel will have no choice but to kneel in front of Turkey. This is the only way for it to live. Otherwise, in the second quarter of the 21st century, there will be no Israel. In the mind of the man who opened Hagia Sophia after 86 years, there is a settled plan to liberate Jerusalem and settle the account of 1917.”[49]
Conclusion
Erdoğan also said six years ago: “Some countries have missiles with nuclear warheads… I, however, am not supposed to have missiles with nuclear warheads. I do not accept this.”[50] Turkish domestically manufactured drones have destroyed Russian-made air defenses in Libya[51] and, as of May 2024, there were almost 1,200 artificial intelligence companies based in Turkey.[52] Turkey likely has the human resources and technical knowledge to build a nuclear weapon, a 1940s technology, if Erdoğan wanted to. The only difficulty would be enriching, rather than acquiring, the uranium, to which he may already have access. There is a nuclear power plant being built at Akkuyu[53] in Turkey and two more being planned at Sinop[54] and İğneada.[55]
It may seem unlikely that Turkey, a member of NATO, may suddenly strike Israel in a surprise attack, but 9/11 was more than unlikely; it was unimaginable, as was October 7. Erdoğan’s December 2024 takeover of Damascus was unimaginable to many as well. Erdoğan and his government draw, not only for propaganda purposes but for strategic planning, on the legacy of the Ottomans, whose 400-year rule over Jerusalem they know well and repeat often. In the minds of the top officials in Erdoğan’s government, it is not a matter of whether the Turkish state will one day right the perceived historical wrongs of 1917 that Karagül mentions, but only a question of when it will do so.
