All things being equal, Turkey. I don't know much about equipment and training, but leadership is on Turkey's side. The Mullahs promote people who are loyal, not neccessarily people who are good at their job. Turkey, being a secular democracy, has a much more merit based system. This means that on the small unit level Turkey would have a strong advantage. Of course there is more, but I don't know as much about the equipment Turkey and Iran use, except that Iran uses a lot of old Soviet stuff.

Turkey is US backed with their weaponry. If I remember right, they use M-60s for MBTs which would beat out most of Irans dated T-62s and T-72s (if they even have those?). Turkey would probally win unless the Mullahs somehow incited a popular war against them and declared a jihad or something against Turkey.

Turkey and Iran would be a pretty tough match, and I think the advantage would simply go to whoever happened to be defending. Their populations and GDP's are almost identical; Turkey would nominally have the technological and leadership advantage but it would be nowhere near the disparity found between American and Iraq, let alone Afghanistan. In the long term, even barring NATO involvement, my money would be on Turkey, but it would be a heck of a war. Obviously, Turkey being a member of NATO makes it essentially a moot point. Not even France could sit by and watch Iran attack Turkey without doing anything (and even if they did, Britain and America wouldn't let it slide, and they're the real powers in the alliance). --Phoenix Rising

Ok, here we go.. Armed forces Turkey - 500,000 Active Iran - 535,000 Active MBTs Turkey - 3,500 (M-60s, M-48s, Leopard 1A1s) Iran - 1,500 (M-48s, M-60s, Scorpions, T-72s) APCs Turkey - 4,500 (M113, BTR-80) Iran - 550 (BMP-2s) Artillery Turkey - 2,200 (MLRS, S/P, Towed) Iran - 3,000 (MRS, S/P, Towed) Air Force Turkey - 600 (F-16s, F-4s, F-5s) Iran - 300 (F-4s, F-5s, SU-24, Mig-29s) For the most part, it would seem as though Turkey has a slight upper hand. Throw in the fact that about 75% of Irans equipment it bought from western nations does not work anymore due to lack of parts puts Turkey at a much greater advantage.

Look at the terrain seperating the two. Unless an offensive was accompanying a mass uprising on the other side- Kurds in Turkey, Azerbaijanis in Iran, or maybe just pissed off Iranians in Iran, neither nation could get very far into the other. But Turkey has the better overall forces. And US support.

Turkey is not really worried about Iran. With Iraq out of the equation, the main worry is Syria. Turkey actually threatned Syria with war if they kept harbouring terrorist. Syria shoved APO off to Greece (Yunanistan) and the greeks probably tipped the turks off. The most encouraging is the way Greece and Turkey seem to ease their mutual distrust.

They are both warrior nations and both have long ruling histories.Their history is full of wars between each other. Both nations are proud and ferocious.Their armed forces are matching each other and iran has a good, improving military industry.Although Turkey has one too in a smaller scale.If a war is declared between these two nations whatever the out come would be, it will change the whole middle east.I am a Turk and I would want to say that we would be victorious but Iran is the only country in middle east to have the chance to beat Turkey.

I'd say: You are probably right. A history of warfare is not necessarily an indication of present strenght. I've tried to make this point i a clumsy way by pointing to the fact that Denmark once ruled England and the Americas.

I would not imagine a war between Turkey and Iran.

..turkey is one nation one race one religion... I admire your loyalty to your country, but your fervor sounds like a bit of Germany in the late 1930's. You might want to tone things down a bit on these boards. btw - what IS the most modern tank currently in use by Turkey? and fighter? swhitebull