A new MetroPoll survey suggests that a strong majority of the Turkish public opposes any direct involvement in the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran, while still viewing NATO as an important pillar of Turkey’s security. The findings offer fresh insight into how President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s foreign policy is being received at home.
According to Yetkin Report and the results from MetroPoll’s March 2026 “Pulse of Turkey” survey, shared by senior pollster Özer Sencar, 68.1% of respondents said Turkey should remain neutral in the conflict. Another 22.6% said Ankara should side with Iran, while only 2.1% supported aligning with the US and Israel. The remaining respondents were undecided.
The numbers point to a clear public preference: Turkey should avoid being drawn into war. At the same time, another result in the same survey reveals a more complex picture of public opinion. When asked about NATO’s role in Turkey’s security, 61.0% described it as important, while 27.6% said it was not important.
That result is notable because anti-American sentiment has remained high in Turkey in recent years, shaped by developments in Gaza, the war involving Iran, and disputes over Syria and Kurdish groups. Yet despite widespread criticism of Washington, the poll indicates that public trust in NATO’s broader security value has not collapsed. The perception may have been reinforced by the role of allied defense systems in intercepting missiles launched from Iran.
The findings also support a broader interpretation of Erdoğan’s current foreign policy. Rather than taking sides openly, Ankara has tried to condemn escalation while maintaining contact with all parties and preserving room for diplomacy. This approach resembles what some Turkish commentators have described as an updated version of former President İsmet İnönü’s strategy during World War II: keeping Turkey out of a devastating conflict through active neutrality.
Analysts say Turkish foreign policy has gone through several phases over the past decade and a half, from ideological positioning during the Arab uprisings, to a more reactive and security-driven line after the failed coup attempt of July 15, 2016. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, however, Ankara has increasingly returned to a pragmatic, balance-focused approach.
In that context, the MetroPoll data suggest Erdoğan’s attempt to steer Turkey through overlapping regional crises without direct military entanglement is not only strategic, but also closely aligned with public sentiment.