Opinion World

Konstantinos Kousantas: Turkey Will Face Consequences of Iran-US Israel War

Turkey’s pro-Iran stance amid the Iran–US–Israel conflict risks backlash as it opposes US airspace use, supports Hamas, and faces growing regional isolation and geopolitical challenges.

Konstantinos Kousantas Lieutenant General (ret.)

APRIL 29, 2026 AT 6:36 PM Updated: May 17, 2026 12:09 PM

2. The reason is that Turkey perceives that the loss of Iran’s operational power is compensated in the Middle East by a strong Israel, supported by the US, where efforts are underway to dismantle Iran as a “state sponsor” of paramilitary organizations capable of influencing Areas of Global Strategic Trade and Energy Interest (Strait of Hormuz, Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Haifa, Suez Canal).

3. Clearly, Turkish foreign policy has not realized that behind Israel stand the US, which aim both to advance their own interests in the Middle East and to eliminate the obstacles posed by Iran’s uncontrolled expansion over 47 years of arming its paramilitary organizations.

4. Furthermore, the US has introduced a resolution in Congress against the Muslim Brotherhood (Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2025) as a terrorist organization due to its support for the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, for actions harming states in the Middle East, American citizens, and American interests—a development that particularly affects Erdoğan and Turkey.

5. Qatar and Turkey are the states that officially serve as the main supporters of Hamas, having formally signed the Peace Agreement for the Gaza Strip as guarantors, with all the implications this entails.

6. It is no coincidence that Israel immediately recognized a large geographic area of Somalia, Somaliland (a state unrecognized by the UN since 1991), which borders the Gulf of Aden and lies just a few kilometers from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where it will face Turkey directly, which holds energy and military agreements with Somalia.

7. It is not accidental that the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, during a recent speech in Hamburg, included Turkey alongside Russia and China as powers whose influence should be limited in Europe.

8. Unfortunately, in Greece, there are many ideological supporters of the paramilitary organizations created by Iran that align with Turkish claims.

They are the same people who claim that the victor in the Iran-US war is Iran.

They are the same people who fail to recognize the major geopolitical cooperation 3 + 1 (Greece, the Republic of Cyprus, Israel under the US), based on the three main pillars of Security, Economy – IMEC, and Energy.

They are the same people who refuse to acknowledge that Greece has future arms agreements worth approximately 5 billion euros with Israel (Achilles Shield, multiple PULS launchers, F-16 ammunition, Spike NLOS anti-tank missiles) and about 10 billion euros with the US for defense (F-35).

Turkey

Konstantinos Kousantas

Konstantinos Kousantas (b. 1962) graduated from the Hellenic Military Academy in 1983 and is an alumnus of the Supreme Joint War College and the National Defence School. He holds two master's degrees, an MSc in International Security (Plymouth) and International Relations (Brussels). He completed his studies at the Department of Primary Education of the Democritus University of Thrace. He has served on the staff of the International Military Sport Council (CISM) with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in Belgium – Brussels (2006–2009), and at the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Headquarters in Spain – Valencia as Assistant Chief of Staff with the rank of Brigadier General (2011–2013). After his retirement, he served as Director of the Office of the President of CISM in Belgium – Brussels (2014–2018). He is also a Senior Fellow at the Cyprus Center for European and International Affairs of the University of Nicosia since 2022.