KDP confirms government rotation - Kurdish Globe

The Kurdish Globe No. 335, Saturday, January 07, 2012 14
Iran and Turkey divided
by ‘Arab Spring’
Relationships in the region are changing
By Salah Bayaziddi
sbayaziddi@yahoo.com
It was almost 18 months
ago that a divided United
Nations Security Council
voted to tighten sanctions
against Iran over its nuci
clear program. It mostly
failed because both Turki
key and Brazil, non-permi
manent members of the
UN Security Council,
resisted U.S.-led efforts
to push through further
sanctions over Iran’s failui
ure to halt its uranium enri
richment program. While
it was not the first attempt
by the international commi
munity to curb nuclear
proliferation in one of the
most volatile regions of
the world, it was alarming
news for the West where
one of the most trusted alli
lies in the Muslim world
and a member of NATO
is siding with Iran. At the
time, when Turkey voted
against the further sancti
tions of Iran on June 9,
2010, the policy makers
in the region feared the
possibility that the new
Turkish policies were
linked to a sharp break
from its secular tradition
and pro-Western stance.
Nevertheless, there are
many signs that the warm
relations between these
two neighboring counti
tries is changing in nature
and it is moving from a
relationship of rivalry
to one based on animosi
ity and adversary. In line
with such new developmi
ments, an Iranian political
official threatened to atti
tack Turkey's NATO missi
sile defense system if the
U.S. or Israel attacks Iran,
repeating a similar threat
from a general a month
ago.
It was on Sept. 2 when
Turkey’s Foreign Ministi
try announced the counti
try would host an early
warning radar as part of
a NATO defense system,
which will help protect
against ballistic missile
threats and is part of a
strategic initiative agreed
upon in 2011. Then it was
reported that a military
installation in the Turkish
town of Kurecik, about
700 kilometers west of
the border with Iran, has
been chosen as the radar
site. Tehran has made
clear its displeasure at
Turkey's decision to depi
ploy a NATO missile earli
ly warning system, which
Iran sees as a U.S. ploy
to protect Israel from any
counterattack, should the
Jewish state target Iran's
nuclear facilities.
This war of words beti
tween Iran and Turkey’s
officials became more
serious when Vice-Chairmi
man of the Iranian Parliami
ment's National Security
and Foreign Policy Commi
mission Hussein Ibrahim
said Iran is making plans
to finding ways to neuti
tralize the NATO missi
sile defense system to be
installed in Turkey, and
warned that in the case
of any attack on Iran, it
will definitely hit that
system. In December, Isli
lamic Revolution Guards
Corps Aerospace commi
mander Brig. Gen. Amir
Ali Hajizadeh underlined
Iran's crushing response
to any enemy aggression,
and warned that Tehran
would target the NATO
missile shield in Turkey
if it comes under attack.
"We have prepared oursi
selves, if any threat is
staged against Iran, we
will target NATO's missi
sile shield in Turkey and
will then attack other
targets," Brig. Gen. Haji
jizadeh said, addressing a
gathering of 10,000 Basij
(volunteer forces) membi
bers in the western town
of Khorramabad in late
November.
However, there must
more stories inside this
new round of rivalry
games between Iran and
Turkey. As a clear indici
cation, the rise of “Arab
Spring” and the new Turki
key’s policy toward the
Syrian regime has played
a major role in changing
hearts of these once close
friends. Indeed, Turkey
and Iran, the Middle East's
two major non-Arab Musli
lim states, are vying for
influence in the post-Arab
Spring region and it was
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shakes hands with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davvutoglu
at the presidential office in Tehran on January 5, 2012.
enough to show its serioi
ousness when Iranian Supi
preme Leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei's military
adviser accused Turkish
Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan of setti
ting its foreign policy to
please Washington. It was
in the early stages of the
anti-government protests
across Middle East and
North African countries
when the Iranian regime
clearly was trying to porti
tray a different view, and
in fact a more suitable
one, to its political ideoi
ology across the Islamic
world. In the beginning, it
was viewed that the Arab
uprisings had been mainli
ly secular in nature. But
Khamenei claimed they
represented an "Islamic
awakening" against dictati
torial, Western-backed regi
gimes, inspired by Iran's
1979 Islamic Revolution.
But it seems Tehran is fulli
ly aware its own model of
a purportedly democratic
Islamic government has
little appeal in the Arab
world.
Turkish pressure on
Syria, Tehran's main ally
in the Arab world, has angi
gered the Iranian regime.
Erdogan, with a vision of
a moderate Islamic poli
litical system, has taken a
tough and proactive stand
against Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad's bruti
tal response to the ninemonth
Syrian uprising.
The Turkish premier
predicted recently that
the Syrian leader will be
ousted "sooner or later,”
and is set to impose its
own sanctions on Damasci
cus. Turkey is also harbi
boring Syrian opposition
groups and army defecti
tors. Clearly, Iran has a
huge interest in the survi
vival of Assad's regime.
His removal could sever
Iran's umbilical cord to
Hezbollah, Tehran's coreli
ligionist ally in Lebanon,
which gives the Islamic
republic a cherished presei
ence on Israel's northern
ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images
border and enables Iran
to project its power in
the region. Making the
situation worse was Turki
key's decision to deploy
the NATO missile early
warning system, which
has the potential to cause
more difficulty to already
troubled relations of these
rival countries.
Now with the new devi
velopments in hand, and
with the arrival of this
new phase of post-sancti
tions of the UN Security
Council, the prospect of
future diplomatic efforts
are more uncertain then
ever before but most impi
portantly, the role of Turki
key will become more
crucial toward Iran’s
nuclear crisis. At the momi
ment, it seems also all
options in responding to
Iran's nuclear ambitions
are wide open, and the
further intensification of
this problem will lead the
entire region to the edge of
a full-scale regional confi
flict. Further complicating
the crisiss, it is crucial to
remember that Israel has
long viewed Tehran as its
greatest strategic threat
because of Iran's nuclear
program and its current
president, who frequently
has predicted the destructi
tion of the Jewish state.
Until now, both Israel and
the U.S. have refused to
rule out a military option
to halt Iran's nuclear capi
pabilities. At these histori
ical moments, the policy
makers are reviewing this
crucial question: How
will Turkey respond to
any military strike against
Iran? It was not long ago
when, following the appi
proval of more sanctions
against Iran, the Turkish
government announced its
refusal to accept any militi
tary action against Iran
because it would create
another Iraq and this time
result in a wider regional
war and bleak future for
the entire region.