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Published : 29 Mar 2026, 08:57 PM
The ongoing military confrontation involving the United States, Israel, and Iran is no longer a localised skirmish but a fast-moving "global crisis" that could demand a heavy toll from every person on earth, the head of the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation, known in short in Turkey as MIT, has warned.
Speaking at the Stratcom Summit 2026 in Istanbul on Saturday, Ibrahim Kalin delivered a grim assessment of the conflict that began on Feb 28.
According to a report by Ankara-based state-run Anadolu Agency, he suggested the world has been navigating a series of fractures since the COVID-19 pandemic, but the current escalation represents a dangerous new threshold.
Reflecting on the scale of the potential disaster, Kalin noted that the international community stands on the precipice of a "war for which 8 billion people will pay the price".
He emphasised that the fallout would extend far beyond the borders of the Middle East, affecting global stability and economic structures.
The intelligence chief expressed deep concern that the conflict is being engineered to create long-term instability.
He cautioned that one of the underlying objectives appears to be "laying the groundwork for decades of fratricidal conflict among the region’s founding peoples -- Turks, Kurds, Arabs, and Persians".
Despite the pressure of the regional turmoil, Kalin made it clear that Ankara would not be dragged into the violence, describing the military campaign against Tehran as lacking any legal basis under international law.
"Turkey has never been and never will be a party that fuels the fire of discord," he said, adding that his country would rather absorb the heat of the conflict to cool it down than contribute to the spread of the flames.
Kalin also addressed the broader Palestinian cause, asserting that Ankara remains a guardian of their sovereignty.
"We will not allow the fundamental rights of Palestinians to be taken away through fait accomplis or the violations in Gaza and the West Bank to be ignored," he said.
While he acknowledged that Tehran’s recent strikes on Gulf nations were "unacceptable", he pointed out that Iran was not the initial aggressor in this specific timeline.
Without naming specific leaders, he suggested the architects of the violence are using "policies of destruction, annexation, and occupation" to reshape the map of the Middle East, while simultaneously sabotaging diplomatic channels facilitated by nations like Pakistan.
He has specifically accused Israel of intentionally ruining diplomatic efforts to end the war against Iran.
