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JOHN CALABRESE*
ABSTRACT Throughout the twentieth century, Turkey and Iran have enjoyed peaceful, if not always cordial relations. The Cold War strategic orientations of these two neighbours solidified that relationship. The Iranian Revolution posed the first major challenge to the stability of the Turco-Iranian relations. However, throughout the 1980s Turkish and Iranian officials adroitly managed their differences, though they did not succeed in resolving them. During the 1990s, the pressures and polarities impinging upon Turco-Iranian relations have both multiplied and intensified. Ranging from the exertion of US influence on Turkey, to the changing political dynamics in Turkey and Iran, Turco-Iranian relations today rest on unsteady ground. Although the exact course which Turco-Iranian relations will take remains unclear, there is reason to be concerned about its current state. For, to a significant degree, the stability and prosperity of the Middle East region depends to a significant degree on maintaining the stability of Turco-Iranian relations.
Introduction
In the post-Cold War and post-Gulf War period, the Middle East regiongeopolitically as well as geoeconomically-has remained in flux. As regional powers, Turkey and Iran are crucial actors in the struggle for regional stability and prosperity. How Turkey and Iran choose to deploy their power, with whom they are aligned, and whether they can manage or overcome their differences is vitally important not only to them, but to their neighbours and to countries outside the Middle East with interests in the region.
Stable Turco-Iranian relations are essential to the stability of the region. However, as this study will demonstrate, keeping Turco-Iranian relations on an even keel has become difficult. The purpose of this analysis is to explore how and why this is the case. In order to do so, this study will set the Turco-Iranian relationship in an historical context; identify the key pressures and polarities impinging upon it; and examine the main issues around which relations between the two countries currently revolve.
Part One: An Unshakeable Foundation?
Until the 18th century, the struggle between Safavid Persian Shi'ism and the Ottoman version of Islamic orthodoxy had been an important dimension of their combative relationship. In the early 1700s, Persian-Ottoman peace negotiations introduced a new concept of inter-Muslim relations whereby sovereign states could co-exist as autonomous parts of the Islamic...