The Iranian role complicates attempts at open cooperation between Iraq and Turkey. Turkey is trying

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[size=52]The Iranian role complicates attempts at open cooperation between Iraq and Turkey. Turkey is trying to balance Iranian hegemony by supporting the Sunni and Turkmen components in Iraq.[/size]

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04/25/2024
Baghdad - “Iranian challenges” emerge in the face of the agreements reached during the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Iraq, considering that Tehran is a regional competitor with greater influence in Iraq, which ultimately contributes to defining Ankara’s relations with... Baghdad.[/size]
[size=45]A Voice of America radio report indicated that Erdogan and Prime Minister Muhammad al-Shia al-Sudani agreed to expand bilateral relations, noting that “experts believe that this will face a challenge from the Iranian neighbor, which has established great political influence for itself in Iraq.”[/size]
[size=45]26 agreements and memorandums of understanding were reached, which constitute a “road map” for the sustainability of cooperation between Turkey and Iraq, and a “turning point” as Erdogan described it, and addressed major issues such as security, water management, trade, and the initial agreement between Ankara, Baghdad, Doha, and Abu Dhabi on the “development road” project, which is supposed to To connect the Gulf countries to Turkey and Europe via Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]Sunni political leaders are torn between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and even Jordan, and there is no consensus among Iraqi Sunnis about occupying the position of Speaker of Parliament.[/size]
[size=45]The American report quoted experts questioning Turkey’s ability to expand its interests in Iraq, and a researcher at the Emirates Policy Center, Sardar Aziz, a former advisor to the Kurdistan Regional Parliament, said, “It is doubtful that Iran will agree to become a member state in NATO, and compete with Turkey.” “For Tehran, the main player in Iraq.”[/size]
[size=45]Aziz also pointed out that the term of the current Iraqi government is nearing its end, which increases doubts regarding Turkey, explaining that “the Sudanese Prime Minister has only one year left in office, and the chances of him remaining in office are very low.”[/size]
[size=45]He added, "No money has been allocated in the Iraqi budget for these projects, which makes it impossible for these agreements to become long-term unless Iran approves of them."[/size]
[size=45]While the competition for influence between Turkey and Iran over Iraq is not new, Tehran has the greatest influence since the American invasion in 2003, adding that the Popular Mobilization Forces have strengthened the influence of Iranian hands in Iraq since 2014. While Turkey is trying to balance Iranian hegemony through... Supporting the Sunni and Turkmen components in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]The report stated that Erdogan met with a group of representatives of the Turkmen component in Baghdad, after another meeting with representatives of the Sunni component.[/size]
[size=45]But according to Iraqi writer Hassan Al-Nasser, Turkish influence over the Sunnis in Iraq may not be a factor that helps Erdogan in light of the great division in the Sunni political base, especially after the dismissal of Parliament Speaker Muhammad Al-Halbousi last November, a step that some leaders considered... The Sunnah is an attempt to marginalize the Sunni component in the country.[/size]
[size=45]Al-Nasser added, “Sunni political leaders are confused between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, and even Jordan, and there is no consensus among Iraqi Sunnis about occupying the position of Speaker of Parliament.”[/size]
[size=45]For his part, Nizar Haider, director of the Iraqi Media Center based in Virginia, believes that Turkey is exploiting sectarian divisions in Iraq as a “negotiating card,” explaining that the Iraqi public was shocked by the image of Erdogan meeting with what he described as representatives of the Sunni sect and the Turkmen sect, adding, “ “This is a very serious matter.”[/size]
[size=45]Haider added that the Sunni and Turkmen communities “view Ankara as a supportive force in the Iraqi political process, and Ankara also views the Sunni and Turkmen communities as a negotiating card with the Iraqi government.”[/size]
[size=45]The report considered that the Iranian role may complicate attempts by Iraq and Turkey to cooperate in the security field, recalling what Erdogan said on his plane returning to Ankara, where he indicated that Iraqi officials had agreed to cooperate with his government against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, and that he wanted to see tangible results. Baghdad classified the party as a “banned organization.”[/size]
[size=45]According to Aziz, a researcher at the Emirates Policy Center, “It appears that Turkey has not achieved its goal of persuading Iraq to recognize the Kurdistan Workers’ Party as a terrorist organization.”[/size]
[size=45]Sinjar explained, “In practical terms, Iraq’s assistance to Turkey against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party is considered a difficult issue, because the issue has geopolitical and regional dimensions,” adding that the expected Turkish military operations inside Iraq, especially in the city of Sinjar, where the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the Popular Mobilization Forces are also active, It could lead to direct involvement by Iran.[/size]
[size=45]For his part, Haider, from the Iraqi Media Center in Virginia, expects that there will be no opposition from Iran to the future Turkish military operation against Kurdish militants in Iraq, explaining that Tehran “will agree to such an operation by Turkey because it will provide Iran with a good opportunity to advance its strategic interests.” Within Iraqi territory, it is a beneficial scenario for both parties, Iran and Turkey.”[/size]
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