IRAN, TURKEY AND
ISRAEL
 |
| Rise of the Ottoman Empire |
The ARAB world is located fairly
and squarely within that area of the globe now designated the MIDDLE EAST (it
has borne other names), but the MIDDLE EAST is not exclusively ARAB. In
addition to the numerous non-ARAB minorities that inhabit the region, three
major non-ARAB states straddle it – Iran, TURKEY and ISRAEL. In today’s world
there is little love lost between them. It was not always so.
 |
| Massada, cradle of Judaism |
The three differ in several basic
respects, the most obvious being size. Iran consists of some one-and–a-half
million square kilometers, TURKEY is about half that, while Israel is tiny by
comparison at 21,000 square kilometers. IRAN and TURKEY both have populations
pushing some 80 million; ISRAEL barely achieves 8 million. In geopolitical
influence, however, the three probably stand shoulder to shoulder.
Another basic difference is
religion. While ISRAEL is a Jewish state – the national home of the Jewish
people – IRAN and TURKEY represent the conflicting branches of Islam. Iran is
the leading exponent of the SHI-ITE tradition; TURKEY is a committed SUNNI
MUSLIM state.
TURKEY REGARDS ASSAD AS ITS MORTAL ENEMY – PARTLY BECAUSE OF HIS
SUPPORT FOR KURDISH INDEPENDENCE
Accordingly IRAN and TURKEY are
actively engaged, though from opposing points of view, in the turmoil that has
engulfed the ARAB world. In the SYRIAN civil war, Iran supports the SHIA-associated
regime of President BASHAR ASSAD; TURKEY regards ASSAD as its mortal enemy –
partly because of his support for KURDISH independence. Many believe TURKEY
even goes as far as providing aid and comfort to the brutal, but SUNNI, Islamic
State (IS), which is intent on spreading its control over as much of SYRIA and IRAQ
as possible, before advancing even further into the ISLAMIC world.
 |
| Persian, Jewish relation |
For if anything unites the
political philosophies of these two non-ARAB states, it is their opposition to
the third – ISRAEL. Both IRAN and TURKEY seek to boost their popularity in the ARAB
world by unrestrained hostility towards ISRAEL. IRAN not only engages in
terrorist activities against ISRAELI targets worldwide, but finances and
supports anti-ISRAEL terrorist action from wherever it emanates, in particular SHI-ITE
HEZBOLLAH in LEBANON, but also SUNNI HAMAS in GAZA. TURKEY under ERDOGAN, first
as prime minister from 2003, now as president, has sought to enhance its
credentials in the MUSLIM world by adopting a consistently anti-ISRAEL stance.
It was not always so. Once the
three non-ARAB states stood side by side. Back in March 1949 TURKEY was the
first MUSLIM majority country to recognize the State of ISRAEL; a year later IRAN
followed suit.
Background Information:
VILIFICATION OF IRAN BY QATAR, TURKEY AND SAUDI ARABIA IN ORDER TO GAIN
GEO-STRATEGIC LEVERAGE OVER IRAN
TURKEY AND ISRAEL
Following TURKISH recognition,
cooperation between TURKEY and Israel flourished, particularly in the military,
strategic, and diplomatic spheres. Trade and tourism boomed, the ISRAEL Air
Force practiced maneuvers in TURKISH airspace and Israeli technicians
modernized TURKISH combat jets. There were also plans for high-tech cooperation
and water sharing.
ERDOĞAN AND HIS MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD BACKGROUND FORCED HIM TO CHANGE HIS
STANCE ON ISRAEL
When RECEP TAYYIP ERDOĞAN became
prime minister of TURKEY in 2003, he initially maintained a “business as usual”
approach, and indeed paid an official visit to ISRAEL in 2005. However his
sympathies, shaped by his MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD background, very quickly resulted
in his realigning TURKISH policy in favor of an ISLAMIST pro-ARAB stance. Relations
with ISRAEL deteriorated rapidly, reaching their nadir in the 2010 Mavi Marmara
incident, when an attempt, backed by the TURKISH government, to break ISRAEL’S naval
blockade of GAZA led to an armed encounter on the high seas, which resulted in
the deaths of nine TURKISH nationals.
Background Information:
CYPRUS’S AND ISRAEL’S ECONOMIC ZONE IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN HAS
INFURIATED TURKEY
TURKEY REVIVES STRATEGIC COOPERATION WITH ISRAEL
THE TRUE REASON BEHIND TURKEYS WARMONGERING AGAINST ISRAEL
IRAN AND ISRAEL
 |
| Top Iranian military officials Hasan Toofanian and Bahram Ariana meet with Israeli officers in the headquarters |
As for IRAN, from the
establishment of the State of ISRAEL up to the IRANIAN Revolution in 1979 and
the fall of the PAHLAVI dynasty, the two countries maintained close ties. ISRAEL
viewed IRAN as a natural ally, and fostered the relationship as part of the
strategy favored by ISRAEL’S first Prime Minister, DAVID BEN GURION, of an
“alliance of the periphery”. After the Six Day War in 1967, IRAN supplied ISRAEL
with a significant portion of its oil needs, and Iranian oil was shipped to EUROPEAN
markets via the joint ISRAELI-IRANIAN EILAT-ASHKELON pipeline. ISRAELI construction
firms and engineers were active in IRAN, and military projects are believed to
have been wide-ranging, including an IRANIAN-ISRAELI attempt to develop a new
missile.
Background Information:
ARE IRAN AND ISRAEL REALLY ARCHENEMIES, OR IS IT JUST A FACADE?
SOFTENING STANCES BETWEEN TURKEY, ISRAEL, IRAN, THE ONLY NON- ARAB NATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, COULD ALTER THE REGIONS GEOPOLITICAL LANDSCAPE
In December 1979 the Islamist AYATOLLAH
KHOMENEI became Supreme Leader of IRAN. Before the end of the year, IRAN had
severed diplomatic relations with ISRAEL, and withdrawn its recognition.
How extraordinary, therefore,
that the leading ARAB media organization, AL-ARABIYA, on its website on
December 16, 2014, should run a long article by TURKISH political analyst, CEYLAN
OZBUDAK, headed: “Old Friends Can’t be Foes”. In it she maintains that “a new
warmth is in the air for TURKEY-ISRAEL relations,” citing ISRAEL’S offer of $20
to $23 million in compensation for the families of the nine TURKISH nationals
killed during the Mavi Marmara incident as “a major step forward to secure a
normalization process with TURKEY”. This, she says, can lead to further
positive developments for both countries, and the region, in terms of security,
economy and foreign policy. “Today,” she maintains, “with the latest situation
in the MIDDLE EAST and the ongoing SYRIAN situation, the countries need the
partnership of each other maybe more than ever.”
Background information:
ISRAELI EXPORTS TO TURKEY RISE 42% TO EQUAL EXPORTS TO GERMANY
In support of this, she claims
that a TURKEY-bound pipeline is the most feasible option for exporting the
natural gas being developed in ISRAEL’S offshore exploration in the EASTERN
MEDITERRANEAN, and that four TURKISH companies are currently involved in
negotiations to begin importing ISRAELI gas starting in 2017.
Ozbudak points out that TURKEY is
the only regional country to which both IRANIAN and ISRAELI citizens can travel
without a visa. TURKEY, she maintains, is moving towards a closer diplomatic
relationship with IRAN. “It’s also high time,” she asserts, “to come closer to ISRAEL
to be able to mediate between the two countries when the need emerges.” TURKEY
as honest broker between ISRAEL and IRAN? That would indeed be an upside-down
world – a re-aligned TURKEY and a radically different IRAN. But we’ve been
there before, and what goes around, comes around. It’s a thought.
By Neville Teller
By Neville Teller
No comments:
Post a Comment