What pushes Turkey and Iran to ride out the storm of poem?

There is sometimes a tendency among analysts to overstate the significance of relationships between countries and their contribution to respective national interests when the reality is seemingly different. On the contrary, there is also a tendency to exaggerate the tensions between countries. In particular, Turkey’s foreign relations are read through these angles, which in fact leads to a misreading of the reality beneath the surface.

Last week, a diplomatic spat happened between Ankara and Tehran due to a poem issue, and then within a few days, things got back on track. When reading Turkish-Iranian relations, which is one of the most complicated and fragile ones in the region, it is always crucial to check what’s actually the status of the relationship both, above and the below the surface.

Political tensions sparked when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recited a poem composed by an Azeri poet during an official visit to Baku on Dec. 10 to celebrate Azerbaijan’s victory over Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh. The poem refers to the Aras River that marks the border between Azerbaijan and ethnic-Azerbaijani provinces of northwest Iran. Concerned that the poem recited by the Turkish leader could fan separatism among Iran’s Azeri minority, the next day, Iran summoned the Turkish ambassador to Tehran to express its “harsh condemnation” over the matter.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry considered Erdoğan’s words as "unacceptable and meddlesome." Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif went further, asserting via Twitter that the poem "refers to the forcible separation of areas north [of the] Aras from [the] Iranian motherland. Didn’t he realize he was undermining the sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan?" Iranian politicians went further with aggressive statements, and even Iranian media outlets accused Ankara of fueling separatism in Iran, putting the country’s territorial integrity at risk. In retaliation, the Turkish foreign ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador to Ankara over his country's “aggressive” reaction.

Turkey's ruling party's spokesperson Ömer Çelik immediately reacted to Iranian politicians' remarks, saying "We condemn the ugly language used by some Iranian politicians against our president." Turkey's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said Iran had distorted the meaning of the poem “to fuel senseless tensions.” This followed phone traffic between foreign ministers of the two countries, and the Iranian side said the parties resolved a misunderstanding. “The parties emphasized the importance of strengthening and expanding the relations between the two countries,” the Iranian embassy in Ankara tweeted.

Iran, which considers Muslim Azerbaijan as a potential threat to its national security, has been providing direct and indirect support to Armenia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Sinem Cengiz

The highest-level remark came from Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani who said Tehran could move past a diplomatic quarrel with Turkey. “In my opinion, with the explanations (Turkish officials) gave, we can move beyond this issue, but the sensitivity of our people is very important,” Rouhani told a televized news conference in Tehran.

Getting back to the beginning, the above statements indicate what has been on the surface in Turkish-Iranian relations. Regarding what is beneath the surface, there is a list of laundry factors that have led to such a reaction from the Iranian side; but few of them would be mentioned here.

There are certain reasons why officials in Tehran have overreacted to the poem. It is hard to say Tehran was happy with Turkey’s active role in the Azerbaijani-Armenian tension and with how the conflict has ended up. Iran, which considers Muslim Azerbaijan as a potential threat to its national security, has been providing direct and indirect support to Armenia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Secondly, Israel joining the ranks of Turkey and Azerbaijan – with political means – in the recent conflict in Caucasia was a nightmare scenario for Tehran. Although Ankara and Tel Aviv cooperate with and lend support to Azerbaijan differently; two countries are decisively in support of the Azeri leadership. While Azerbaijan brings Turkey and Israel on the same page in Caucasia, it widens the gap between Turkey and Iran- who are two potential rivals for influence in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Although Turkish-Iranian rivalry in these regions has been muted, it is impossible to neglect Iranian leadership’s concerns over Turkey having the upper hand in this region, where Russia is a dominant player as a regional power broker.

Thirdly, there is still a Syria file that is open despite the Arab uprisings completing their ten-year anniversary this week. There is ongoing cooperation between Iran and Turkey whereby Russia is always involved. However, the degree of cooperation between them should not be exaggerated. While both Ankara and Tehran share certain economic and security interests, their interests are at odds in many areas still. The two states, which have fundamentally different political identities and ideologies, have historically been, and continue to be, rivals despite cooperation in some areas.

Lastly, now that the Biden administration is to take office soon, both Tehran and Ankara have engaged in regional calculations, and this has been the other dimension of how this poem spat ended so quickly. In the past, Turkish and Iranian officials had harsh tit-for-tats that the relations have reached rock bottom due to disagreements on regional matters. Now the stakes are high enough for two sides that the best formula is to sweep the things under the carpet.