What is Achilles Shield? | Greece and Israel move ahead with air defense network project

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The Achilles Shield project represents a significant geopolitical shift in the Eastern Mediterranean, marking a formal military alliance between Greece, Israel, and Cyprus that Turkey views as a direct national security threat. According to Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen, this trilateral cooperation was accelerated by Turkey's own antagonistic foreign policy toward Israel, which inadvertently pushed Jerusalem into an arms partnership with Athens and Nicosia. The agreement, valued at approximately 3.6 billion dollars, involves the deployment of Israeli defense technology on Greek islands, including Crete, to create a defensive barrier against potential threats from Iran. This development has fundamentally altered regional dynamics, transforming Israel from a distant actor into a core architect of Greece's security architecture, a reality that Ankara finds deeply concerning and unwelcome. The primary motivation behind this alliance is the shared perception of an existential threat from Iran, which both Greek and Israeli officials believe poses a direct danger to European stability. Open sources indicate that Iran has demonstrated the capability to launch ballistic missiles capable of reaching major European cities like Berlin and Paris, prompting Greece to host advanced defense batteries to contain this risk. Beyond the Iranian threat, tensions with Turkey remain a critical factor, as ongoing disputes over maritime delimitation zones in the Aegean Sea and conflicting flight information regions have led to frequent aerial incidents and escalating diplomatic rhetoric. The presence of Israeli systems on Greek soil serves not only to counter Iranian ballistic capabilities but also to bolster Greece's defensive posture against its northern neighbor, effectively creating a layered security network that integrates regional allies against common adversaries. Turkey's reaction to this rapprochement highlights a profound strategic miscalculation in its own foreign policy, as the very actions intended to keep Israel distant from Greece have resulted in a strengthened military bond between the two nations. Dr. Cohen notes that while President Erdoğan and Prime Minister Netanyahu met in New York in September 2023 with the explicit goal of preventing such an alliance, subsequent events led Turkey to inadvertently facilitate this union. The Turkish media has already responded by labeling Israel as Ankara's primary threat following the summit in Jerusalem, signaling a deepening rift between the two countries. This situation underscores the complexity of regional diplomacy, where diplomatic efforts aimed at managing tensions have instead catalyzed a new security architecture that challenges Turkey's traditional influence in the region and forces its decision-makers to reconsider their approach to neighborhood relations. Ultimately, the Achilles Shield project illustrates how shifting alliances and shared security concerns are reshaping the geopolitical landscape of the Eastern Mediterranean, with far-reaching implications for regional stability. The deployment of Israeli technology in Greece is a strategic response to dual threats from Iran and Turkey, reflecting a broader trend where smaller nations seek stronger partnerships to ensure their sovereignty and safety. However, this realignment comes at the cost of increased friction with Turkey, which now perceives the alliance as a hostile encirclement rather than a defensive measure. As tensions in Syria and the Aegean continue to escalate, the need for responsible diplomacy becomes increasingly urgent, yet the current trajectory suggests that the gap between Ankara and its neighbors may widen further unless significant diplomatic efforts are made to lower the heat and restore constructive engagement across the region.

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It's a pleasure to welcome Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen and Anna Rotenberg, Turkey expert at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University. Hi, thank you so much for being here in studio. So, Achilles Shield, what a fabulous name. Before we unpack the details, talk to us about the perspective of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey watching these agreements unfold. Significant for the region, your thoughts? >> Well, first of all, uh, thank you very much for having me. Good evening. Uh, regarding your question, well, uh, Turkey sees this rapprochement and this alliance between Greece, Israel, and Cyprus as a national security threat. Uh, we all witnessed the trilateral, uh, the trilateral summit here in Jerusalem on 23rd uh, of um, October last year. And uh, right after that on 24th of October, uh, the Turkish Yeni Şafak newspaper came with a headline that from now on Israel is considered in Turkey as uh, the primary threat uh, for Ankara. So, uh, this is uh, saying us a lot. But, we should also underline uh, the fact that uh, the Turkish administration brought this alliance to them uh, to the uh, to the being uh, because of their antagonist foreign policy against the state of Israel. If you like, they pushed Jerusalem to the uh, to the arms of Athens and Nicosia. And uh, unfortunately, we cannot see that Hamas came from by Turkey uh, this kind of a huge uh, you know, diplomatic profit. Here we are talking about a deal uh, of 3.6 uh, billion dollars. This will be a huge income for the the Israeli defense establishment. And it will definitely deepen uh, the Israeli and the Greek uh, partnership here. And of course, this is not welcomed in Ankara. I also would like to remind you that uh, when um uh President Erdogan and Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister Netanyahu, had this meeting in in New York in September 2023, the most important objective of the Turkish side was to keep Israel distant from the Greeks. However, later with their own hands, they became the core architect of this military alliance between Israel and and Greece. And this is a food for thought for the Turkish decision-makers that unfortunately their foreign policy is not serving for Turkey's interests. >> And certainly now you have Israeli technology defending Greece in certain islands where Israeli tourists love to spend a lot of time. It is interesting looking at the different layers right now. But what exactly is the threat that Athens faces not only from Turkey but also from Iran right now? >> Well, according to the open sources, we see that Iran is also threatening Europe and also we saw that Bulgaria, Greece and other countries are threatened by the Ayatollah regime. So, most likely according to the open sources, the Greek island of Crete will host this kind of a battery in order to in order to confront, in order to contain such an Iranian threat against the European continent and from the Greek perspective and the European perspective, this is something very important because let us not forget the Iranian regime launched a ballistic missile to Diego Garcia airbase, which means that they are capable of launching ballistic missiles to the heart of Europe. And we are not only talking about Southeast Europe, but also um main cities like Berlin, Paris are within the range of the Iranian threat. And therefore uh the Greek um this Greek deployment of this battery is very crucial. And of course from a Greek point of view, well they are feeling very much threatened uh by the Turkish administration. We know that uh there is an ongoing uh disagreement between the Turks and the Greeks regarding the maritime delimitation zones in the Aegean Sea. Also the flight information regions boundaries uh you know, infrequently we are seeing there are dog fights in the air. And also the rhetoric of Turkish foreign ministry and the also the rhetoric of the Greek foreign ministry nowadays is escalating. Of course, Israel is also uh taking part in this um uh you know, clash of words. Unfortunately, we do not see any kind of restraint. However, what we need nowadays, especially after this friction in Syria, both from Jerusalem and both from Turkey and also from Athens to lower the tensions because this is the way how the responsible diplomacy should be conducted. >> Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen and Eran Chek always appreciate your insights. Thank you so much >> Thank you very much for having me. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.