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Türkiye's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli warned on Tuesday, Feb. 24, that a U.S. attack on Iran would destabilize the entire region and open "an era of widespread wars beyond all predictions," as the world's largest aircraft carrier arrived at a U.S. naval base on Crete en route to the Middle East.
"The U.S. extraordinary military buildup gives a fair idea of the magnitude of the danger. The threat is close and hot," Bahceli said during his party's group meeting at the Turkish Parliament.
"Bets are literally being placed on the date the U.S. will attack Iran. Our region is undergoing a historic test," Bahceli stated.
"A U.S. attack on Iran will completely disrupt the balance of geographies and forcefully open the door to an era of widespread wars beyond all predictions," he added.
Bahceli noted that while both the U.S. and Iran claim negotiations are ongoing and the Geneva table remains active, Iran is simultaneously conducting joint military exercises with Russia and China in the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman, and the Indian Ocean.
"A more devastating new-generation war scenario will negatively affect regional dynamics, the global economy, and the balance of politics from every angle," he noted.
Bahceli directed sharp criticism at the U.S. approach to Iran and Israel, noting that while the Gaza Peace Board was convening in Washington for Gaza's reconstruction, a war preparation meeting against Iran was being held simultaneously.
"It is incomprehensible that Trump, who should be taking the lead in reforming and disciplining the Israeli administration, is instead falling for the Zionist lobby's provocations and challenging Iran," Bahceli stated.
He also condemned the U.S. ambassador to Israel's remarks about "promised lands," saying the statements exposed the threat of Zionist expansionism.
"The U.S. ambassador to Israel raising the nonsense of promised lands with theological and ideological obsession, putting potential cross-border targets on display, and opening the sovereignty rights of regional states to debate, this is ultimately the decryption of what kind of threat Zionist expansionism poses," Bahceli added.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, reached the U.S. naval base of Souda Bay on Crete on Monday, Feb. 23, en route to joining a massive military buildup in the Middle East, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) photographer.
Washington currently has more than a dozen warships in the Middle East: one aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, nine destroyers, and three littoral combat ships.
It is rare for two U.S. aircraft carriers to be positioned in the Middle East simultaneously.
The United States had two carriers in the region in June last year when it bombed three Iranian nuclear sites during Israel's 12-day war with Iran.
Greek news site in.gr reported that "the arrival of a second aircraft carrier near Iran shows that the time is approaching for the US to decide how to act against Tehran."
The Hellenic Committee for International Peace, a member of the World Peace Council, said in a statement that the heavy presence of U.S. F-35 and A-10 combat aircraft, aerial refueling and transport assets, and the proximity of the USS Gerald R. Ford "confirms that Souda is becoming an important link in the tightening ring of war around Iran and the peoples of the region."
"The people have nothing to gain from the escalation of war plans," the statement said, warning that the situation could be dangerous for Greece.
Trump has repeatedly threatened Tehran with military action if it does not reach a new deal on its nuclear program.
Iran and the U.S. are set to reconvene in Geneva on Thursday, Feb. 26, for a third round of nuclear talks.
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