The Western Condition - St Antony's College - University of Oxford
The Western Condition - St Antony's College - University of Oxford
The Western Condition - St Antony's College - University of Oxford
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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Western</strong> <strong>Condition</strong>: Turkey, the US and the EU in the New Middle East<br />
it. Much to the displeasure <strong>of</strong> the Iraqi government, the AKP government provided safe haven<br />
to the country’s fugitive vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi, who was sentenced to death in<br />
absentia and has been facing an Interpol arrest warrant. Hashemi was Iraq’s most senior Sunni<br />
politician until falling out with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. <strong>The</strong> Turkish government also<br />
drew the ire <strong>of</strong> Baghdad by starting to purchase oil directly from the KRG, bypassing the central<br />
government. In April 2012, claiming that Erdoğan was “still living the illusion <strong>of</strong> regional<br />
hegemony” and accusing him <strong>of</strong> stoking sectarian tensions in the region, the Iraqi premier<br />
declared Turkey a “hostile state”. 116 In November, the Iraqi government expelled Turkish stateowned<br />
energy company TPAO, which was involved in a major oil exploration project in<br />
southern Iraq. 117<br />
Turkey’s relations with Iran also took a hit as the Syrian uprising brought to the surface the<br />
underlying rivalry between the two states. Personal efforts by Prime Minister Erdoğan and<br />
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad to manage their countries’ growing differences have<br />
been complicated by the existence <strong>of</strong> competing and semi-autonomous institutions within the<br />
Iranian regime, <strong>of</strong>ten resulting in mixed messages coming out <strong>of</strong> the Islamic Republic about<br />
Turkey. In June 2011, for example, the Iranian foreign ministry denied a statement purportedly<br />
by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that Iran would retaliate against Turkey in case its government<br />
supported a NATO intervention in Syria. 118 In August, the Iranian chief <strong>of</strong> the general staff,<br />
Hassan Firouzabadi warned that it would be “Turkey’s turn” if it continued to support the US in<br />
Syria. 119 This was followed by similar warnings by General Ali Hajizadeh, a senior commander in<br />
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, and Hossein Ibrahimi, a member <strong>of</strong> the Iranian Majles<br />
(parliament), who stated that NATO radars located in Turkey would be Iran’s first target in the<br />
event <strong>of</strong> an attack by Israel or the US. <strong>The</strong> Iranian foreign ministry subsequently downplayed the<br />
importance <strong>of</strong> these comments, claiming that they merely reflected the “personal views” <strong>of</strong> the<br />
individuals who made them and not the <strong>of</strong>ficial policy <strong>of</strong> the Iranian government. 120 In any case,<br />
the emerging pattern <strong>of</strong> allegation and denial was highly reminiscent <strong>of</strong> the battle <strong>of</strong> words<br />
between the two countries throughout their tense relationship in the 1990s. Also reminiscent <strong>of</strong><br />
this decade was the abrupt end to the security cooperation and emerging reports <strong>of</strong> renewed<br />
Syrian and Iranian support for PKK activities inside Turkey. 121<br />
<strong>The</strong> Syrian crisis and the AKP’s renewed intimate ties with the United <strong>St</strong>ates have also put to<br />
test Turkey’s previously strengthening ties with Russia, a long-time ally and provider <strong>of</strong> military<br />
116 ‘Iraqi PM Maliki says Turkey is becoming ‘hostile state’’, Al Arabiya, 20 April 2012.<br />
117 ‘Iraq asks Kuwait Energy to replace Turkey's TPAO on oilfield’, Reuters, 7 November 2012.<br />
118 ‘Tahran’dan Şok Tehdit’, Sabah, June 27, 2011<br />
119 ‘S. Arabia, Qatar, Turkey have Syrians’ blood on their hands: Iranian general’, Tehran Times, 9 August 2012.<br />
120 Daren Butler and Hossein Jaseb, ‘Iran seeks to calm Turkey over missile threats’, Reuters, 14 December 2012.<br />
121 ‘Iran Rejects US Claim about Tehran's Support for PKK against Turkey’, Fars News Agency, 17 August 2012;<br />
Osman Yakut, ‘Iranian spy ring exposed in Turkey, dealing blow to ties between neighbors’, Today’s Zaman, 29<br />
August 2012;<br />
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