Remember in the movies when the surprise twist reveals that the one-time ally is actually in cahoots with the enemy? Well, that reveal looks to be happening in the Middle East now as Al-Monitor is reporting that Turkey and Iran are closer than may be expected.
You see, they used to be linked more publicly, but they took opposing sides in the Syrian civil war. But as Al-Monitor reported, they never severed ties and now Syria is less an issue as crazy terrorists fighting the Syrian regime threaten Turkey’s border with Syria. Throw in some weariness with a fight not going their way, and Turkey may be willing to make nice with Iran.
The foreign ministers of Turkey and Iran talked by phone recently, and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said his country planned to maintain their close cooperation with Iran, according to the Hurriyet Daily News. The Syrian war was also discussed.
It was unclear if that cooperation was in general, or just on the Syria war. However, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to visit Iran later this month.
Al-Monitor reported that Iran and Turkey have been working together on matters of national security despite the differences over Syria. And one source claimed a “strategic cooperation treaty” may even be reached between Iran and Turkey at some point.
With Syria less a disagreement, these two could get closer and closer. That’s bad news for Israel to have one of the most powerful regional nations aligned with its enemy in Iran. It’s also bad for the US, since Turkey had been a key ally. And do you think Europe will still let Turkey into the EU? Scary times, for sure.
(By Joshua Spurlock, themideastupdate.com, January 20, 2014)