The Levant Files

Unutulan 1955 pogromu ve modern Türkiye'nin kimlik krizine zemin hazırlayan şiddet dolu etno-milliyetçilik 6-7 Eylül 1955 gecesi, İstanbul şehri "Septemvriana" veya İstanbul Pogromu olarak bilinen organize bir şiddet kâbusuna gömüldü. Halkın öfkesinin kendiliğinden bir patlaması olmaktan çok uzak olan bu olay; şehrin Rum azınlığının yanı sıra Ermeni ve Yahudi topluluklarına karşı başlatılan, titizlikle planlanmış, devlet destekli bir terör kampanyasıydı. Ölçek ve niyet bakımından Almanya'nın 1938'deki Kristal Gece'sine (Kristallnacht) benzeyen bu şiddet, Kıbrıs anlaşmazlığı üzerinden tırmanan gerilimlerle kasten ateşlendi. Kurgulanan bu felaket, yalnızca geniş çaplı yıkım, cinayet ve tecavüzlerle sonuçlanmakla kalmadı; aynı zamanda yüzyıllardır bu şehirde gelişip serpilmiş bir topluluğun trajik göçünü hızlandırarak Türkiye tarihinde silinmez bir yara izi bıraktı ve Türk-Yunan ilişkilerinin seyrini sonsuza dek değiştirdi. Kökler: Kıbrıs ve Türkiye'de Tırman...

Photo: Ert The forgotten 1955 pogrom and the violent ethno-nationalism that paved the way for modern Turkey's identity crisis On the night of September 6-7, 1955, the city of Istanbul was engulfed in a nightmare of organized violence known as the "Septemvriana" or the Istanbul Pogrom. Far from being a spontaneous outburst of public anger, this was a meticulously planned, state-sponsored campaign of terror unleashed against the city's Greek minority, as well as its Armenian and Jewish communities. The violence, comparable in scale and intent to Germany's 1938 Kristallnacht, was deliberately ignited by escalating tensions over the Cyprus dispute. This orchestrated catastrophe not only resulted in widespread destruction, murder, and rape but also accelerated the tragic exodus of a community that had thrived in the city for centuries, leaving an indelible scar on Turkish history and forever altering the course of Greco-Turkish relations. The Genesis: Cyprus and Rising...

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued a direct warning to the United Kingdom and regional allies, declaring that Britain and any country supporting the United States in a conflict with Tehran will become a "definite and legitimate target" for military retaliation. According to reporting published by Reuters on July 25, a spokesperson for Iran's Revolutionary Guards delivered an explicit ultimatum on Saturday during an interview broadcast on Iranian state broadcaster IRIB. The spokesperson stated that Britain, along with Gulf states and any other nation backing the United States in a conflict, would be considered a legitimate military target. The spokesperson specifically highlighted that U.S. strategic bombers had recently utilized British airfields to support operational activities. The Levant Files Warned First Saturday's statement represents a continuation and widening of threats previously analyzed in detail by The Levant Files on July 24. Th...

İran Devrim Muhafızları Ordusu'nun (IRGC) Birleşik Krallık’ın askerî tesislerine yönelik giderek sertleşen tehditleri, Kıbrıs'taki Egemen Üs Bölgeleri'ni (Akrotiri ve Dikelya, SBA) yeniden gündeme taşıdı. IRGC'nin "46 Numaralı Açıklama" olarak bilinen ve Press TV ile Tasnim aracılığıyla yayımlanan bildirisinde, Birleşik Krallık'ın İran'a yönelik ABD ve İsrail askeri operasyonlarına "en büyük katkıyı" sağladığı öne sürülüyor ve "İran topraklarına yönelik saldırganlıkta kullanılan her üs, meşru bir hedeftir" ifadesi kullanılıyor. Açık Uçlu Tehdit Bildiride adı geçen tesisler Birleşik Krallık’taki RAF Fairford ile Hint Okyanusu'ndaki Diego Garcia ile sınırlı olsa da, Akrotiri ve Dikelya'nın ismen anılmaması güvenlik uzmanlarını rahatlatmıyor. Lefkoşa merkezli bir güvenlik kaynağı, Tahran'ın dilinin "kapalı bir liste değil, bir kategoriyi" hedef aldığını ve Akrotiri'nin bu tanımın dışında kalmasının güç olduğun...

A sharp escalation in rhetoric from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeting British military installations, coupled with London's quiet withdrawal of its remaining diplomatic staff from Tehran, is prompting cautious scrutiny in Cyprus over the potential implications for the two Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) at Akrotiri and Dhekelia — and, by extension, for the Republic of Cyprus itself. While no Iranian communiqué has named the Cypriot-based installations explicitly, security analysts and diplomatic observers note that the sweeping language employed by the IRGC in recent statements could, in a worst-case reading, be interpreted to encompass them. "Any base used for aggression" The concern stems from a detailed IRGC communiqué widely referred to as "Announcement No. 46," disseminated through Iranian state-aligned media outlets including Press TV and Tasnim in mid-July. The document accuses the United Kingdom of having "the greatest partic...

Israel is facing mounting criticism after an Israeli rights group said Gaza-bound flotilla activists detained this week were subjected to a “new pattern” of deliberate physical abuse, including extreme violence and sexual humiliation, by Israeli forces. The report, based on hundreds of testimonies, was first published by Nir Hasson in the Israeli daily Haaretz on May 21. According to Adalah – The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, many of the international activists seized while trying to breach Israel’s blockade of Gaza reported severe beatings, degrading treatment and sexual humiliation while in Israeli custody. Lawyers from Adalah and volunteers met hundreds of detainees at Ashdod port, gathering accounts that the group says point to a systematic pattern of intentional physical abuse by Israeli authorities. Adalah said at least three detainees required hospitalization for injuries allegedly caused by Israeli forces, while dozens more showed suspected rib fractures and ...

Dr. Nikolaos Stelgias Intelligence reaching Cyprus in recent days indicates that the United Nations Secretary-General, whose term expires in the coming months, is preparing a final push on the Cyprus issue. Following António Guterres’s latest contact with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, reports are mounting that the UN is committed to this course and is actively weighing a range of options. According to sources in Nicosia, the UN’s primary objective remains to bring the parties back to the table. While the deep divisions between the two sides persist, Guterres aims—before his tenure draws to a close—to convey to the international community that progress has been achieved, at least in an informal format; that headway has been made on confidence-building measures; and that encouraging signals pointing toward a settlement have started to emerge. The British Formula: A Loose (Con)Federation Should Guterres succeed in this effort, a set of ideas that British sources have been advan...

Dr. Nikolaos Stelgias Kıbrıs'ın güneyine son günlerde ulaşan bilgiler, görev süresi önümüzdeki aylarda sona erecek olan Birleşmiş Milletler (BM) Genel Sekreteri'nin Kıbrıs meselesinde son bir hamleye hazırlandığını gösteriyor. Antonio Guterres'in Kıbrıs Cumhurbaşkanı Nikos Christodoulides ile gerçekleştirdiği son temasın ardından, BM'nin bu yönde kararlı olduğuna ve çeşitli seçenekleri masaya yatırdığına ilişkin haberler giderek yoğunlaşıyor. Lefkoşa'dan edinilen bilgilere göre BM'nin öncelikli hedefi, tarafları yeniden bir masa etrafında toplamak. Taraflar arasındaki derin görüş ayrılıkları gündemdeki yerini korumakla birlikte, Guterres en azından gayriresmî bir formatta Kıbrıs'ta ilerleme sağlandığı, güven artırıcı önlemler konusunda mesafe kat edildiği, hatta çözüm yönünde olumlu sinyaller alındığı mesajını, BM'deki görev süresinin bitmesine kısa bir süre kala dünya kamuoyuyla paylaşmak niyetinde. Birleşik Krallık Formülü: Gevşek (Kon)Federasyon Guter...

The US-Israel war on Iran entered its 33rd day on Wednesday amid a sharp escalation of hostilities across the region, with Iranian missiles striking an oil tanker in Qatari territorial waters, fresh Israeli strikes on Beirut, and US President Donald Trump threatening to pull Washington out of NATO after European allies refused to join military operations against Tehran. Tanker Hit Off Qatar's Coast Qatar's Defence Ministry confirmed that three missiles launched from Iran struck near its territorial waters, with two intercepted and a third hitting an oil tanker leased by QatarEnergy. The strike marked one of the most significant direct attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure since the conflict began, raising fresh alarm over the safety of oil shipping in the region. Iran has drawn widespread condemnation for firing missiles indiscriminately at Gulf states regardless of nationality, a pattern the Iranian foreign ministry has simultaneously sought to distance itself from by calling ...

Η εκτόξευση από το Ιράν, το Σάββατο, δύο βαλλιστικών πυραύλων μέσου βεληνεκούς προς το Ντιέγκο Γκαρσία αξιολογείται ως εξέλιξη που δεν ανατρέπει μόνο τις ισορροπίες στον Ινδικό Ωκεανό, αλλά και τους σχεδιασμούς ασφαλείας στην Ανατολική Μεσόγειο. Η κίνηση αυτή, η οποία θεωρείται η πρώτη γνωστή απόπειρα πυραυλικής επίθεσης της Τεχεράνης εναντίον στόχου εκτός της Μέσης Ανατολής, εκτιμάται ότι συνιστά και σοβαρή προειδοποίηση για τις βρετανικές βάσεις στην Κύπρο. Κανένας από τους πυραύλους δεν έπληξε την αμερικανική βάση στον Ινδικό Ωκεανό, η οποία βρίσκεται σε έδαφος μισθωμένο από το Ηνωμένο Βασίλειο. Σύμφωνα με πληροφορίες, ο πρώτος πύραυλος παρουσίασε βλάβη κατά τη διάρκεια της πτήσης, ενώ για τον δεύτερο εκτοξεύθηκε πύραυλος αναχαίτισης SM-3 από αμερικανικό πολεμικό πλοίο που βρισκόταν στην περιοχή. Ωστόσο, δεν έχει ακόμη διευκρινιστεί αν η αναχαίτιση υπήρξε πλήρως επιτυχής. Ιδιαίτερη προσοχή προκάλεσε και ο χρόνος της επίθεσης. Η απόπειρα σημειώθηκε μόλις λίγες ώρες αφότου ο πρωθυπουρ...

İran’ın cumartesi günü Diego Garcia’ya doğru iki orta menzilli balistik füze fırlatması, yalnızca Hint Okyanusu’ndaki dengeleri değil, Doğu Akdeniz’deki güvenlik hesaplarını da sarsan bir gelişme olarak değerlendiriliyor. Tahran’ın Orta Doğu dışındaki bir hedefe yönelik bilinen ilk füze saldırı girişimi olarak görülen bu adımın, Kıbrıs’taki Birleşik Krallık üsleri bakımından da ciddi uyarı niteliği taşıdığı belirtiliyor. Füzelerin hiçbiri, Hint Okyanusu’nda bulunan ve Birleşik Krallık tarafından kiralanan ABD üssünü vuramadı. İlk füzenin uçuş sırasında başarısız olduğu bildirilirken, ikinci füze için bölgede konuşlu bir ABD savaş gemisinden SM-3 önleyicisi ateşlendi. Ancak önlemenin tam anlamıyla başarılı olup olmadığı konusunda henüz net bir açıklama yapılmadı. Saldırının zamanlaması da ayrıca dikkat çekti. Girişimin, Birleşik Krallık Başbakanı Keir Starmer’ın, Hürmüz Boğazı’nda ticari deniz taşımacılığını tehdit eden İran füze noktalarına karşı yürütülen operasyonlar kapsamında Diego...