Ankara struggles to adapt to new geopolitical reality after Soleimani’s killing
After a brief wait-and-see period in the wake of Qasem Soleimani’s killing, Turkey appears inclined to try a mediator’s role between the United States, Iran and Iraq.
Turkey, like all other regional players, is trying to adapt to the profound geopolitical shift in the Middle East after a US drone attack killed Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s elite Quds Force and the spearhead of Iranian paramilitary operations in the region.
In the two days after the Jan. 3 attack in Baghdad, Ankara followed a wait-and-see approach, reeling from the shock, as evidenced by the words of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “Curiously, I had a conversation with [US President Donald] Trump that evening, and this incident erupted four or five hours later. Evidently, it was all planned. We were shocked by the news,” Erdogan said in a Jan. 5 television interview.
