We cannot accept Iran’s efforts to exert its hegemony over the Middle East. Iran is only taking action against the Islamic State to advance its interests in the region and to wrest control of Iraq and Syria.
That was the message delivered March 26 by none other than Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in expressing his support for Saudi Arabia's military actions in Yemen to prevent the Houthis from seizing control of the country. The Shiite Houthis are considered by many to be the “long arm of Tehran.” In that sense, Erdogan’s remarks were practically a reiteration of an assertion made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his March 3 speech to the US Congress: “Your enemy’s enemy is your enemy.” Netanyahu's comment was intended to convince the Americans that Iran poses an existential threat not only to Israel but also to the entire region, if not the world.