In the third week of August 2026, Turkey requested Interpol to issue a Red Corner Notice, seeking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu’s arrest. In a statement, Ankara mentioned that Israel was committing genocide in the Gaza Strip and preventing humanitarian aid from reaching the area. Ships laden with goods are also being blocked. Now, Tel Aviv has responded by offering a defence deal to an enemy of Turkey.

On August 31, Israel and Greece signed a USD 3.5 billion defence deal under which the Jewish nation would build a multi-layered air defence system for the southeastern European country, with Athens pushing ahead with a broader military modernisation programme. The Defence Ministry of Israel has stated that the move is a part of the Achilles Shield programme and one of the largest defence export deals in the history of Israel.

Reuters has quoted Amir Baram, the Director General of the Israeli Defence Ministry, as saying: “The so-called Achilles Shield deal reflected Israel’s technological edge and the proven track record of our defence systems in the field.” He claimed that Tel Aviv would provide Athens with the David’s Sling and SPYDER systems produced by Israel Aerospace Industries. Tel Aviv will also export MMR multi-mission radars to Athens for air surveillance. Israel used David’s Sling to intercept Iranian missiles ‌during ⁠the war with the Islamic Republic earlier this year. As per the accord, Israel will deliver the air defence system to Greece in stages as it is scheduled to reach full operational readiness within 35 months. Earlier, Finland received this system from the Zionist Regime.

Greece, which spends nearly 3.5% of its GDP on defence mainly because of its long-standing dispute with neighbouring Turkey, has decided to spend about EUR 28 billion by 2036 in order ⁠to build the Achilles Shield multi-layer anti-ballistic, anti-aircraft and anti-drone system, and to acquire up to 40 F-35 fighter jets from the US and frigates from France and Italy. Athens’ plan has encouraged Israel to expand defence-industrial cooperation with Greece, including transfers of technology and expertise to local industry.

According to defence analysts, Greece is quite concerned about threats posed by the US-Israel War on Iran, especially after Tehran launched strikes on US allies in the Gulf. Wolfgang Pusztai, a security policy analyst who formerly served as an Austrian defence attache in Greece, told Al Jazeera: “One needs to be aware that Greece is the host of American naval bases and those might become in the future a target for the Iranians. This is a capability that Greece and other European countries might need in the case that Iran is threatening them, too.”

Greece is also concerned about the increasing drone capabilities of Turkey. Ankara and Athens have long sparred over maritime boundaries, including control over disputed areas in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. It may be noted that Turkey has engaged in war with Greece multiple times in the past. According to Athens, Turkish troops have illegally occupied the northern third of Cyprus since July 1974. Hence, Israel’s move is considered significant in this context. “This is certainly a reason why Greece will deploy the first elements of the Achilles Shield in the Aegean,” stressed Pusztai.

So far, Turkey has not reacted to the new defence deal between Greece and Israel. A section of Turkish analysts has expressed serious concern about the deal, claiming that Greece’s weapons procurement from Israel would certainly make Athens co-responsible for everything that Tel Aviv does in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. Talking to the local media, Cem Gurdeniz, a retired Rear Admiral and a major proponent of Turkey’s Blue Homeland maritime doctrine, said: “The Greek Cypriot administration has now become a complete proxy for the US and Israel.” The Blue Homeland maritime doctrine asserts Ankara’s sovereignty over large swaths of disputed areas in the Aegean, Black and Eastern Mediterranean Seas.

Meanwhile,

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das