Turkey or Pakistan could become Israel's new enemy, analyst says
An Israeli analyst has suggested that Pakistan or Turkey will take the place of Iran as Israel's arch nemesis in the region.
In an opinion piece published in the daily Maariv, Boaz Golani writes of "shifting sands" in the Middle East, as talks to end the war on Iran continue.
Tehran "will be forced to vacate the role of Israel's great enemy", Golani writes, with a new country needed to take on that role.
"Under Ali Khamenei, Iran has made great efforts over three decades to faithfully fulfil this role," the piece reads, claiming that the latest war on Iran - alongside its economic meltdown - has "wiped out" the Islamic Republic's military capabilities.
The Maariv article puts forward either Turkey or Pakistan to take up Iran's post. "It seems that the competition has settled between Turkey and Pakistan," Golani writes.
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"Two large countries (85 million inhabitants in Turkey, 240 million in Pakistan), both with a solid Sunni majority, both with an authoritarian regime that relies on the bayonets of the military, both with large armies and, strangely enough, both with good relations with the United States, Israel's main ally."
Tensions between Israel and Turkey have escalated over the past week, as leaders exchanged pointed accusations amid a deepening geopolitical rift centred on the genocide in Gaza and competing influence in Syria.
In a post on X, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of "massacring his own Kurdish citizens" and "accommodating Iran’s terror regime and its proxies".
Netanyahu has increasingly shifted his rhetoric towards Turkey in recent months, as Ankara moves closer to Greece and the Republic of Cyprus.
Despite this, Greek "shadow ships" are still passing through the port of Ceyhan on their way to delivering oil and military cargo to Israel.
Analysts say the emerging rivalry is likely to centre on Syria, where competing interests have long simmered.
Meanwhile, Pakistan, which has positioned itself at the centre of global conflict mediation during the war on Iran, has long had several officials vocal in their criticism of Israel.
In a since-deleted post on X last week, Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif called Israel "evil" and a "curse for humanity".
The remark was made just hours before US and Iranian delegations were due to arrive in Islamabad for peace talks mediated by Pakistan.
In his column, Golani writes that "Israel must prepare for a scenario in which one of these two countries confronts it immediately after the fighting against Iran subsides."
"The choice between them is not in our hands, and both options are almost equally bad. The main lever we have in dealing with them is our relationship with the United States, which we must guard with all our might."