Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei said that “Iran and the Resistance Front protected Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq from Israeli occupation.” Turkish experts on the “CNN Türk” channel reacted sharply to this.
Globalinfo.Az, citing Axar.az, reports that investigative journalist Elbay Hasanli called the claim unfounded propaganda rhetoric that inflates Iran’s role.
“In particular, an Israeli occupation of Turkey is absolutely impossible. Even the most adventurous political scientists do not raise this even as a possibility,” he said.
The journalist recalled that the Mecca Defense Agreement was signed between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan:
“Iranian officials said they had not received an official invitation, but that their proposals for dialogue on regional security were being discussed. So Iran wants to join this agreement. Nevertheless, they make such a humiliating statement.
Of course, Iran’s propaganda statements do not change the balance of forces. Turkey has been a NATO member since 1952; the country’s defense industry is also expanding, and in 2025 it carried out exports worth more than 10 billion dollars. At least on the basis of these facts, Rezaei’s claim that “Iran saved Turkey from occupation” looks ridiculous. This statement about Israel allegedly occupying Turkey is not a real military scenario but nothing more than an attempt by Iran to present itself as bigger than it is.”
