Turkey has tried its best to stay out of the Iran war, studiously maintaining its neutrality. In this effort, it can point to precedent from its own history. Generations of Turkish policymakers cite the high-stakes balancing act Ankara performed during World War II as one of the golden chapters of Turkish diplomacy. At the time, Turkey’s leaders were acutely aware of the young republic’s geopolitical isolation and military vulnerability—and determined not to repeat the error of their Ottoman