by Burak Akinci
ANKARA, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye has expressed optimism about its future relations with Iran following the Iranian presidential elections that ended earlier this month, but analysts caution that underlying tensions between the two neighbors will likely persist.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week that he hoped for a strengthening of bilateral ties under the tenure of Iran's newly elected president, Masoud Pezeshkian.
Meanwhile, in an article titled "My Message to the World" published in Tehran Times last week, Pezeshkian outlined his approach to foreign policy, during which he expressed his intent to resolve regional issues through enhanced economic relations with neighboring countries, such as Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and others.
The two nations have found common ground in their condemnation of Israel's actions in Gaza and have called for international intervention.
Since the outset of the Israel-Palestine conflict, Türkiye and Iran have become staunch critics of Israel's military operations in Gaza, advocating international action to halt the conflict in the Palestinian enclave.
Economically, Türkiye and Iran share significant and multifaceted trade relations, with Iran standing as one of Türkiye's main natural gas suppliers.
However, despite all these, experts say that Türkiye and Iran remain locked in competition across multiple fronts.
"Both Türkiye and Iran are regional players, and their relationship can be summarized as cooperation in competition, which is unlikely to change," said Togrul Ismayil, head of the international relations department at Kahramanmaras University.
"There may be some softening in bilateral relations, but overall areas of competition and rivalry will continue to exist," Ismayil added, highlighting the ongoing geopolitical disagreements between the two nations.
In Syria, Türkiye has supported opposition forces against Iran's ally, the Bashar al-Assad government, and Tehran opposes Türkiye's military presence in northern Syria aimed at combating Kurdish groups. However, Türkiye has been trying to mend ties with Damascus in recent years, albeit without significant breakthroughs yet.
The South Caucasus remains another area of contention, where Ankara has strengthened its influence by supporting Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. In contrast, Iran has historically maintained a balanced approach, maintaining relations with both Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Similarly, Iraq serves as another battleground for influence, with Türkiye's military actions against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the Kurdish Autonomous Region complicating relations with Iran, which maintains a close relationship with the Iraqi government.
Oytun Orhan, a senior researcher at Ankara's Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies, highlighted Türkiye's efforts to enhance cooperation with both Iraq's central administration and the Kurdish Autonomous Region to counter the PKK threat, adding that this increased cooperation may potentially diminish Iran's influence in Iraq.
Moreover, Türkiye also accuses Iran of being lax towards PKK fighters operating near the Iranian border. In a May interview with Milliyet daily, Türkiye's Defense Minister Yasar Guler expressed Ankara's dissatisfaction with Iran's stance, stating that PKK fighters often seek refuge in Iranian territory when pursued by Turkish forces.
"Unfortunately, our Iranian friends do not regard PKK terrorists in the same light as we do," Guler said, lamenting Tehran's lack of cooperation in combating the PKK, designated a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, and Türkiye.
Orhan noted that both nations have learned to compartmentalize their disputes to prevent major confrontations that could harm their interests.
"There has been a rapprochement between the two countries in recent years by separating areas of cooperation from areas of disagreement, a strategy likely to continue," he said. ■
