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A Change in Turkey's Relations with Iran?
(Ha'aretz) Zvi Bar'el - On the face of it, Turkey and Iran are partners and allies. In actual fact, the two have deep disagreements. Iran and Turkey are competing for influence in Caucasus states, which Turkey sees as "traditional Turkish space." Turkey maintains close military and trade ties with Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, to Iran's chagrin. In Syria, Iran and Turkey are on opposite sides of the fence. Turkey still wants to topple Assad, while Iran sees him as a vital strategic asset to preserve its status and influence in Lebanon. Recently, Iran cut off the gas supply to Turkey due to a technical hitch that closed down Turkish production plants for two weeks. But even after it was fixed, Iran didn't resume the full gas flow. Exposing an Iranian spy network and foiling an attempt to abduct an Israeli businessman, which Turkey attributed to Iranian agents, led to denunciations in Iranian media. Iran is also eyeing suspiciously the rapprochement between Ankara and Riyadh, Turkey's new pact with Abu Dhabi, and its public overtures to Israel.