How Turkey Sees Iran

Turkish writer Ömer Taşpinar explains that although Turkey doesn’t believe in sanctions, it still wants to contain Iran:

In reality, Ankara has no desire to see Iran turn into “the” regional superpower with a nuclear capability. Let’s not forget the centuries of imperial rivalry between the Ottoman and Safavid dynasties. Yes, the border between Turkey and Iran is the oldest one in the region, and relations between the two countries have been calm for the last 400 years. But scratch the surface a little, and you will see that there is not much love between Sunni Turks and Shia Persians in popular culture.

So how does Turkey want to contain Iran?

a clear strategic goal of Turkey is to contain Tehran’s influence. Turkey is doing so by successfully cultivating Damascus and slowly co-opting Hamas. Turkey’s recent spat with Israel has also transformed Recep Tayyip Erdo?an into a hero in the eyes of the Arab street at the expense of Hassan Nasrallah and Ahmedinejad. Trying to strengthen moderate elements in Tehran that want dialogue with Washington is also part of the Turkish strategy

The problem with this strategy, which by the way is the same as that of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the countries of the gulf bar Qatar, is that it is highly reliable on the viability of the peace process. The Ahmadinejad/Nasrallah axis derives its popularity and Arab street cred from Israel’s perennial intransigence.