As the U.S. signals a smaller Middle East footprint, Turkey is ready to step in

Turkey's bid for regional influence comes at a time when the Middle East has been hit by profound shocks that started with the Hamas-led 2023 attack on Israel, and continues with the stalemated, seven-month-old war on Iran.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/5634x3756+0+0/resize/5634x3756!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F89%2F70%2F23eeab59427cb164218e9b77c20b%2Fap26265582716871.jpg' alt='Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, Sept. 22.'/><p>Turkey's bid for regional influence comes at a time when the Middle East has been hit by profound shocks that started with the Hamas-led 2023 attack on Israel, and continues with the stalemated, seven-month-old war on Iran.</p><p>(Image credit: Seth Wenig)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-5983685' />