A As the United States has continued to stage a large scale military buildup in the Middle East, with the apparent goal of preparing for large scale military action against Iran, the possibly of U.S. security partners playing roles in hostilities has remained high. Leaders across the Western Bloc, and particularly in Europe, have expressed clear support for the goal of topping the Iranian state, while the United Kingdom has deployed forces including fighter aircraft to the Middle East which are poised to provide support. While regional states such as Jordan have taken part in Western-led operations against Iran in the past, the much larger scale and greater intensity of a possible new phase of hostilities has raised the possibility of much greater participation from Western-aligned regional actors, with Turkey in particular poised to play a major role.

While Turkey has played a primary role in the wider U.S. campaign against Iran through sustained attacks and support for jihadist paramilitary forces against Iran’s primary security partner Syria, resulting in the state’s collapse in December 2024 after close to 14 years of hostilities, it has also played a wider role beyond providing basing rights for U.S. and other Western forces. Following an Israeli attack on Iran in June 13, the Turkish Kurecik Radar Station in the country’s Malatya province played an important role in supporting Israeli missile defence efforts to block Iran’s retaliatory ballistic missile attacks. Iranian state media outlet Press TV cited officials stating on this basis that Turkey was “spying on Iran for Zionist interests.” The AN/TPY-2 radar systems at the facility in question were installed U.S. military personnel in the early 2010s, allowing it to open it 2012.

The Turkish government confirmed that radar data from the Kurecik base is shared with the other NATO members, and was “established in line with Turkey’s national security and interests and is intended to ensure the protection of the NATO allies,” meaning data could be used to protect U.S. and other Western forces at bases across the Middle East, including U.S. Armed Forces units in Israel. Beyond the AN/TPY-2 system, however, Turkey has also operationalised one of the most potent missile defence systems in the Middle East, the Russian S-400, which appears poised to play a key role in possible hostilities. Turkish officials’ arguments regarding the need to procure the S-400 have specifically cited the requirement for an advanced missile defence capability against Iran, with the system’s sensor suite is also capable of providing early warning and targeting data from far beyond Turkey’s borders.

The S-400’s 91N6E “Big Bird” 3D long-range surveillance & target acquisition radar provides the a panoramic surveillance capability for wide-area airspace scanning and target tracking, with a range of up to 600 kilometres, allowing it to ‘peer’ deep into Iran. The system can track hundreds of targets simultaneously, and operates in multiple bands with electronic protection/jamming resistance. This is complemented by the 96L6, an additional 3D acquisition radar covering a wide altitude range, which is optimised for detecting low-flying targets such as unmanned aircraft and cruise missiles, filling gaps in coverage from the main radar. These radar systems can provide invaluable early warning against Iranian missile strikes, potentially allowing U.S. and Israeli aircraft to launch precision strikes on the locations of Iranian missile launches at much earlier stages, while cueing Western and Israeli missile defence assets across the region.

The possibly of the S-400 system being utilised in roles beyond missile early warning remains significant in the event of a high intensity conflict, with Turkey’s treaty alliance with the United States and longstanding strategic partnership with Israel meaning it may be relied on for support. The S-400’s 40N6 missiles have demonstrated the capability to intercept hypersonic ballistic targets at speeds of up to Mach 8, and at ranges of up to 400 kilometres, which is a capability unmatched by Western and Israeli systems. This could be used to intercept Iranian ballistic missiles to protect U.S. and other allied facilities. The support the Untied States has been able to draw on from a wide range of regional security partners to achieve its strategic goals, where Iran after the toppling of the Syrian state has remained isolated, has placed Washington in a highly advantageous position to pursue its war effort, with Turkey’s role having been particularly central. With Russia having provided Turkey with full autonomy in utilising the S-400, which was customised to be able to integrate with NATO-standard networks, the system is poised to play a major role in broader allied missile defence efforts in the region.