What’s behind Turkey’s muted response to Iran-Pakistan escalation?

Turkey has found itself in an unexpected tough spot following the attacks against Iran by a Pakistan-based militant group, the Iranian retaliation on Pakistani soil and Pakistani counter-retaliation against Iran.

As tensions between Iran and Pakistan escalated into missile attacks on each other’s territory, a muted response was Turkey’s only reasonable choice. While Ankara is unwilling to confront its “frenemy” Tehran, a trade and energy partner that is also a regional rival, it can also hardly risk offending Pakistan, a good friend, major importer of Turkish weapons and Ankara’s critical backer in international forums.

Between a rock and a hard place

Turkish-Iranian relations have had their ups and downs for decades (if not centuries), but things turned sour in the early 2010s because of the Syrian civil war. While Tehran backed President Bashar al-Assad’s regime as part of its “axis of resistance” outlook, Ankara sided with the armed opposition groups.