By In an opinion piece in Maariv, Israeli analyst Boaz Golani claims war on Iran has ‘wiped out’ its military capabilities
Predictions on who is set to be next in line to become Israel’s arch nemesis have start rolling in, with whispers lulling in Pakistan or Turkey as Iran’s successors for that role.
In an opinion piece by Israeli analyst Boaz Golani published in the daily Maariv, he indicates “shifting sands” in the Middle East, as discussions on the end of the war on Iran swirl.
As Tehran “will be forced to vacate the role of Israel’s great enemy”, Golani says that there will be a new country to fulfill that role.
“Under Ali Khamenei, Iran has made great efforts over three decades to faithfully fulfill this role,” the piece reads, claiming that the latest war on Iran alongside its economic meltdown has rendered its military capabilities “wiped out”.
The opinion piece considers either Turkey or Pakistan to take up Iran’s post. “It seems that the competition has settled between Turkey and Pakistan,” he writes.
“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 ongoing genocidal war on Gaza and the competing influence in Syria.
In a post on X, Netanyahu accused Turkish President 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.
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 now 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.
According to the opinion piece on the Israeli daily, 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.”
