IT WAS widely expected to spark a fresh burst of anti-Israeli vitriol from Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s increasingly paranoid prime minister. Last month an article in the Washington Post claimed that Hakan Fidan, the head of MIT, Turkey’s national spy agency, had outed ten Iranians working for Israel to his colleagues in Iran. In the eyes of Mr Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) party the allegations were part of a purported Zionist conspiracy to topple their government. Yet when Israel denied involvement in the leak, Mr Erdogan declared that Turkey must accept Israel’s words.
The prime minister’s dovish pronouncements have been followed by surprise visits to Ankara by the foreign ministers of Iran and Iraq. Turkey now says it will not import oil from Iraq’s Kurds without the Iraqi central government’s consent, easing worries that Turkey is encouraging Kurdish independence. Mr Erdogan is said to be eyeing a trip to Baghdad to coincide with the 10th day of the holy fast on November 13th when Shias around the world mourn the death of the Imam Husain.All of this is helping to feed speculation that Mr Erdogan is…