Turkey, Iran fighting over Syria, but verbally only
A media crisis is raging on between Turkey and Iran, against the background of Turkish military interference in northern Syria and provocative remarks by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The media crisis between the two
countries finds its roots in 2012, when Iranian media described Erdogan as a
"conspirator" against Syria.
Erdogan, for his part, accused Iran of
messing with Syria's security and interfering in the country for sectarian
reasons.
However, the fact is that both
countries back a cavalcade of terrorist groups and militias in Syria.
Avoiding direct
confrontation
Iranian-Turkish rivalries are
manifesting themselves strongly on the Syrian stage.
Nevertheless, this did not prevent the
chief of staff of the Iranian army Mohammad Bagheri from visiting Ankara in
August 2017, in the first such visit by such a high-ranking military official
from Iran to Turkey since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Oddly enough, the visit came only
months after Turkish troops entered northern Syria. It gave insights into the
abilities of both Tehran and Ankara to cooperate, rather than collide, despite
their own differences.
The fact is that Turkey's and Iran's
military presence in Syria puts them on a collision course. However, both
countries apparently inherently agree on the need for avoiding confrontation.
Both countries can only focus on their
shared interests amid the current turbulent regional conditions.
Ankara interfered militarily in Syria
in 2017 and 2018 with the ostensible aim of cracking down on the Islamic State
of Iraq and Syria. Nonetheless, its real objectives were to prevent the Kurds
from strengthening their presence in northern Syria, just on the Turkish
border.
Media war
Turkey's interference in Syria was met
with an angry campaign by media close to the Iranian regime. The Iranian media
accused Erdogan of conspiring against the Syrian government.
In 2015, Erdogan stepped up his
anti-Iran rhetoric by accusing it of abetting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
for sectarian reasons.
This escalation did not, however,
prevent Turkey from welcoming the deal Iran hammered out with Western powers on
its nuclear file.
