Ankara reacts with anger: Greece is establishing a drone base in Rhodes

About world press headlines

Against the backdrop of the constantly evolving security situation, the lens of the world media reveals unique perspectives on what is happening in the country. From analyses by international experts, interpretations from a different angle, and small stories from Israel that disappear from view — every day we will present you with a short daily review of what is written in the world media about Israel, to try and decipher how things here look from overseas.

The articles we present in the section are taken from major newspapers around the world and do not necessarily reflect the worldview of Globes.

1. In Turkey, they claim: Pro-Israeli Kurdish factions are planning an operation against al-Shara

The pro-Kurdish "Syrian Democratic Forces" (SDF) in Syria declared last week that they were laying down their arms, a move that constitutes another achievement for Turkey and for the President of Syria and Erdogan's protégé, Ahmad al-Shara (Abu Muhammad al-Julani). Now, in the Turkish newspaper "Türkiye", which is close to the Erdogan regime, they are accusing Israel of attempts to undermine the stabilization process in Syria. Ahmet Osman Albash, a senior official in the SDF, told the Turkish newspaper that the move by the SDF under the leadership of Mazloum Abdi disrupted Israel's long-term plan.

According to the senior official who commanded forces in the Raqqa district, there are factions within the SDF that maintain contact with Israel, while the latter tries to thwart the process of uniting all pro-Kurdish forces into al-Shara's army. Albash claims that thousands of weapons were buried in the ground near the border with Turkey for this goal, and that the pro-Israeli Kurdish factions are planning to rebel against the SDF administration, which reached an agreement with the President of Syria.

In the newspaper "Türkiye", they say that Albash operated for seven years under the SDF forces, which for their part say that Israeli regional goals are behind the US ties with the SDF and even the Kurdish underground (PKK). He even added an accusation that the salaries for the Kurds come from the US, but through the UAE. "The great motivation behind all this is to bring Israel towards the Euphrates River. The Arab tribes have been silent for years thanks to the UAE. Israel does not have the military power to bring the line from the Golan Heights to Al-Hasakah."

By Yilmaz Bilgen, from "Türkiye".

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2. Greece is establishing a drone base in Rhodes, Israel may be involved in it

Greece has begun a process to establish a permanent drone base near the military airport of Rhodes — this is reported on the local website "Novinite". Greece is developing a drone industry within the country, integrating local companies into the design and production of unmanned assets. At the same time, they report in Novinite that the Greek army continues to rely on external suppliers for the purchase of drones, including Israel. The main threat that they fear in Athens is, of course, Turkey, as Rhodes is very close to it.

This is expected to be the second drone base in the country after the island of Skyros, which is located in the heart of the Aegean Sea. Until now, the Greek army had operated drones from the island of Rhodes, only within the framework of temporary deployments, while the new base is expected to provide a more consistent response for the operation of unmanned platforms. Against the backdrop of the Turkish threat, Greek defense companies recently presented their developing technologies during a special military exercise held this summer. The systems presented included UAVs, anti-drone systems, and unmanned technologies, with the test intended to examine the current response capability.

On the other side of the Aegean Sea, they report on the Greek website "Kathimerini" that in Ankara they reacted with anger to Athens' move. The Turkish Ministry of Defense stated that the establishment of a drone base in Rhodes "will violate the demilitarized status of the island, and will harm peace and stability in the Aegean Sea, as well as good neighborly relations." At the same time, in Kathimerini, they note that in Ankara they welcomed the Greek decision to transfer Patriot air defense systems from Karpathos to Crete, which in their view is considered a positive step regarding the "reversal of the militarization of the island."

By Manolis Kostidis, from "Kathimerini".

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3. In the UAE and Qatar, they are summing up losses from the war against Iran

The number of passengers who passed through Dubai airport dropped by 31.3% in the first half of 2026, following Operation "Lion's Roar" and Iranian influences — this is reported by the Reuters news agency. In the prominent airport in the UAE, 31.5 million passengers passed through in the first half of the year, of which 13 million were in the second quarter. For comparison, in the same period last year, the number stood at 46 million people.

Official UAE data also indicate that air traffic in the first half of the year decreased by about 32.1% year-on-year to about 150,600. In the Middle East in general and in the UAE in particular, they are in a continuous process of returning air operations to normal. Last month, Emirates President Tim Clark said that the airline had already managed to return to an operating capacity of about 90%. In contrast, European companies such as Lufthansa and British Airways are still exercising extreme caution.

Reuters also reports on the Gulf neighbor, Qatar, that its total liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports dropped by 96% due to the war. Alongside it, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait were affected, but at rates that do not approach its level. An analysis conducted by Reuters shows that Qatar lost about 24 billion dollars from potential gas sales — an amount equal to five months of income in the state of Tamim Al Thani.

By Marwa Rashad and Nora Buli, from Reuters. By Federico Maccioni, from Reuters.