There has been a recent surge of news stories and commentary in the Turkish and foreign media that Turkey might launch a military operation against Syria and Iran. For example, the Huffington Post ran an article claiming that a joint Turkey-Saudi military operation is possible in Syria, based on sources knowledgeable about Qatar-brokered senior level contacts between Turkey and Saudi Arabia to put together a regional Sunni alliance. Another commentator claims that events have passed the point of possibility, and Ankara is already preparing for a military intervention in Syria to create a buffer zone there.

In an April 30 Milliyet article, “The Headline: Turkish soldiers in Syria,” Asli Aydintasbas links these claims to the approaching June 7 general elections. She wrote that she has been hearing backroom whispers that the Sunni alliance of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait is preparing to occupy Syria. She concludes her article by asking, “Will Ankara take one more step and move to create secure zones inside Syria in the coming months or even weeks? Will Turkish newspapers, busy with upcoming elections, suddenly hit the newsstands with the banner headline 'Turkish troops in Syria'”?

Another explicit claim along these lines was heard from Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat, former Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy chairman and current parliamentary candidate for the pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy Party (HDP). According to Firat, failure by the HDP to pass the 10% election threshold in Turkey could lead to serious tumult. Firat bluntly warned, “If the AKP government and [President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan, mired in corruption, feel in danger, they will not hesitate even to start a war with another country to delay the election.”

Given the implications of these claims, all eyes are now on Ankara. Al-Monitor spoke to several security sources, all of whom requested anonymity. They all said that for the time being, the possibility of a ground operation against Syria or Iraq is not on the table in Ankara.