Syria Drives Tensions Again Between Iran and Türkiye
2024-12-0527 view
Iran’s former top nuclear negotiator has harshly criticized Turkish policy, exposing deep tensions between the two countries over developments in Syria after a surprise opposition offensive seized two major cities from the Syrian regime and Iran-backed armed groups.
“Türkiye has fallen into the trap dug for it by America and Israel,” said Ali Larijani, an advisor to the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, accusing Ankara of being a tool for U.S. interests.
Larijani’s comments came a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi visited Ankara in a bid to persuade his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan to intervene to halt the assault.
Araqchi appears to have failed, and at the time of writing, opposition forces were in control of Hama andn second city Aleppo.
Iran is the biggest loser in the rebel offensive. Aleppo is of great importance to Tehran both culturally and economically. The rebels also seized the strategic Azzan base south of Aleppo, a step towards Iranian ally Hezbollah’s strongholds in Lebanon some 270 kilometers away, meaning the operation will impact Iran’s influence in Lebanon as well.
It is clear that Iran implicitly holds the Turkish side responsible for these developments. Tehran sees recent Syrian opposition advances as an expansion of the influence of Türkiye, which has a particularly interest in Aleppo province given that it abuts Türkiye’s southern border.
There are reports that officials are considering removing Iran from their tripartite Astana negotiating track, dedicated to maintaining a de-escalation agreement between regime and opposition forces in northwestern Syria. This would be done according to a Turkish-Russian understanding based on new developments in the battlefield. Were it implemented, this scenario would be another heavy blow to Iranian influence in the region.
It is clear that Syria is an arena of growing Turkish-Iranian tensions, but it is not the only one. The two sides are also at odds in the Caucasus, over the question of the Zangezur corridor in Azerbaijan, a trade route supported by Türkiye and bitterly opposed by Iran. They also disagree over Turkish military operations in northern Iraq.
