In the wake of the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Iran’s Foreign Minister traveled to Turkey for high-level meetings. He was already scheduled to go to Turkey as part of a regional tour he is conducting. He has been in Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq, Oman, Jordan, and Egypt, shoring up Iran’s influence and seeking to isolate Israel.
In the wake of the death of Sinwar, it appears Iran and Turkey will be doing more heavy lifting to prop up Hamas and Hezbollah. Iran and Turkey both back Hamas against Israel. Iran backs Hezbollah in Lebanon as well.
Iranian state media on October 19 noted that “Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has warned against the expansion of war in the region, saying there is a common understanding about the threat of conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon and the critical situation of the displaced.”
Araghchi was taking part in a South Caucasus regional conference. However, he is leveraging these events in order to bash Israel and create a unified front with Turkey.
For instance, IRNA noted that “he said his Istanbul visit coincided with his regional tour to the neighboring country to hold talks on the Israeli regime’s aggressions that have created a dangerous situation in the region.” Iran has had increasingly close ties with Ankara over the last decade. They don’t agree on everything but they have many interests in common. Both countries have warm ties with Qatar, for instance. Qatar hosts Hamas.
Expanding even further
Turkey and Iran are also discussing developments between Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Russia. Historically, Turkey has had warm ties with Azerbaijan, whereas Iran has had positive ties with Armenia. Russia has played all sides; it has close ties to Iran and Turkey, and it stood by as Azerbaijan fought Armenia and took over Nagorno-Karabakh in the last years.
Turkey’s foreign minister Hakan Fidan and Ankara have been increasingly hostile to Israel over the last year. Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has used the most harsh rhetoric against Israel.
