Turkish Foreign Minister Visits Iran

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visits Tehran to solidify Turkish-Iranian relations. (Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Iran and Turkey announced their intent to sign a broad cooperation agreement on November 15. According to Al Jazeera, the two countries sought to design a “cooperation roadmap” and present a more united front.

The news of this agreement comes, as stated by XinhuaNet, after the visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to Tehran during a period of turmoil between the two countries. Throughout the summer, tensions between the two states heightened due to their governments’ differing views on the status of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, per the German Marshall Fund. 

Representatives from Iran and Turkey discussed a swath of issues during the meeting. According to Al Jazeera, they agreed to work together to bolster trade, energy, environmental, and consular relations.

Cavusoglu and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahianian also discussed several topics related to regional affairs. According to Al Jazeera, both states have grown increasingly concerned with the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan following the Taliban’s takeover.  

Addressing regional conflicts has been cited as a top priority by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who has insisted that regional problems should be solved internally without the intervention of global powers. Raisi maintains, “Afghanistan’s problems can be solved by the hands of its own people with the help of neighbors.”

Iran and Turkey will seek to “ensure stability and improve trade” in the South Caucasus, reports Al Jazeera. Furthermore, both welcomed cooperation to fight terrorism and strengthen regional security.  

While the two countries seem to have paved over some major disputes, they remain at odds on several central issues. GMF reports that Iran’s militia still supports Kurdish groups, who Turkey views as terrorists, and Iran’s militia network stands in the way of Turkey's regional power projection with its own militias.