Are Iran and Turkey on a collision course over West Azerbaijan?

Source:Middle East Institute Date:02Mar2024

Over the centuries, Iran and Turkey have engaged in an ebbing and flowing, but continual, rivalry for regional influence and supremacy. That thorny relationship persists to this day, in some cases manifesting in Tehran and Ankara supporting partners or allies fighting on opposite sides of foreign conflicts, including in Syria, Iraq, and the South Caucasus. Yet such potentially escalatory dynamics have not been limited to geopolitical competition by proxy; they have also spilled over into efforts to meddle in each other’s internal affairs. This is notably evident in the northwestern region of Iran, a crucial geopolitical focal point that borders directly on Turkey. Here, the Turkish side has periodically sought to incite the complex and long-running tensions involving Kurds and ethnic Azerbaijanis (also known locally as Azerbaijani-Turks). In turn, Iran has tried to play the Kurdish card and is currently supporting Alevi Kurds against Turkey.