Tehran, Iran, August 24
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Turkey’s decision to carry out military operations in Syria has definitely been welcomed by Tehran and Moscow, Political Science Professor at University of Tehran Ahmad Naqibzadeh believes.
“Iran and Turkey have interests in the issue. If they cooperate, the outcome will be a positive one,” he told Trend August 24.
Turkey launched a military operation against the Islamic State (aka IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) in northern Syria earlier in the day.
Turkish artillery units and warplanes belonging to the US-led coalition pounded the ISIS-held Syrian town of Jarablus. Turkish tanks and special forces units were also operating along the border.
Jarablus lies along the west bank of the Euphrates River, less than a kilometer from Turkey. It's the last major town held by IS on the Syrian-Turkish border.
However, there are the Kurds, which are backed by the US but over which Tehran and Ankara hold similar positions, so the Kurds issue could be challenging, the professor noted.
Kurds remain a major point of disagreement between Moscow on one hand and Tehran and Ankara on the other despite new efforts from the three countries to increase friendly relations, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said August 22.
“The positions of Russia on the Kurds may be different from those of Turkey and Iran because they are not their neighbors and are likely to be manipulated. Also, Turkey and Iran tend to think alike about Kurds in some occasions and vary in some other,” the spokesman said.
All in all, although Iran and Turkey have not reached a common stance regarding the conflicting groups in Syria, they will do so in time, Naqibzadeh said, adding that there are the Hezbollah forces that favor Iran and there are other forces that are backed by Turkey, and they could come together through some reconciliation.
Turkey has grown more welcoming of Russia and Iran’s position on the Syrian crisis in the past few months. The country sued to side with the US and Saudi Arabia in rearing opposition groups in Syria, but now voices a position that is more like that of Tehran and Moscow.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Ankara a week ago. There, the Syrian issue constituted the hottest topic of discussion.
On August 16, it was announced that Iran had accommodated Russian bombers at one of its western air bases to help Russia’s air raids on Syrian terrorists.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said August 24 that Turkey will "fully support" operations against IS positions in Jarabulus.
Meanwhile, US Vice-President Joe Biden has arrived in Ankara, the country's capital, where he is scheduled to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Turkey’s decision to carry out military operations in Syria has definitely been welcomed by Tehran and Moscow, Political Science Professor at University of Tehran Ahmad Naqibzadeh believes.
“Iran and Turkey have interests in the issue. If they cooperate, the outcome will be a positive one,” he told Trend August 24.
Turkey launched a military operation against the Islamic State (aka IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) in northern Syria earlier in the day.
Turkish artillery units and warplanes belonging to the US-led coalition pounded the ISIS-held Syrian town of Jarablus. Turkish tanks and special forces units were also operating along the border.
Jarablus lies along the west bank of the Euphrates River, less than a kilometer from Turkey. It's the last major town held by IS on the Syrian-Turkish border.
However, there are the Kurds, which are backed by the US but over which Tehran and Ankara hold similar positions, so the Kurds issue could be challenging, the professor noted.
Kurds remain a major point of disagreement between Moscow on one hand and Tehran and Ankara on the other despite new efforts from the three countries to increase friendly relations, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said August 22.
“The positions of Russia on the Kurds may be different from those of Turkey and Iran because they are not their neighbors and are likely to be manipulated. Also, Turkey and Iran tend to think alike about Kurds in some occasions and vary in some other,” the spokesman said.
All in all, although Iran and Turkey have not reached a common stance regarding the conflicting groups in Syria, they will do so in time, Naqibzadeh said, adding that there are the Hezbollah forces that favor Iran and there are other forces that are backed by Turkey, and they could come together through some reconciliation.
Turkey has grown more welcoming of Russia and Iran’s position on the Syrian crisis in the past few months. The country sued to side with the US and Saudi Arabia in rearing opposition groups in Syria, but now voices a position that is more like that of Tehran and Moscow.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Ankara a week ago. There, the Syrian issue constituted the hottest topic of discussion.
On August 16, it was announced that Iran had accommodated Russian bombers at one of its western air bases to help Russia’s air raids on Syrian terrorists.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said August 24 that Turkey will "fully support" operations against IS positions in Jarabulus.
Meanwhile, US Vice-President Joe Biden has arrived in Ankara, the country's capital, where he is scheduled to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim