Turkey-Iran relations and their presence in Iraq

Iranian foreign policy orientation is defined by three complementary contexts, namely national, Shiite and Islamic. Naturally, as a nation-state, the national level thinking determines the main orientation However, the sectarian context has been competing with the national one as the dominant political discourse in Iranian foreign policy orientation.

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Turkey-Iran relations and their presence in Iraq
Libya Idlib and the Turkey-Russia partnership

Libya, Idlib and the Turkey-Russia partnership

With tensions between Iran and the United States de-escalating for now, there is talk about cease-fire agreements in Libya and Idlib.

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Since the killing of Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad last week, there have been debates, questions and concerns about the potential implications of this attack on U.S. foreign policy and the international relations of the Middle East in general. The missile attacks of Iran on a base in Iraq and the debates about a Ukrainian airlines plane presumably shot down by a missile increased the level these discussions.

Some people believe that Tehran's response to the Qassem Soleimani assassination resulted in an easing of tensions between the United States and Iran. They argue that the Iranians, intimidated, landed on a symbolic act of retaliation – which they proceeded to portray as vengeance on the home front.

The targeted killing of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Quds Force, an elite unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the deputy chief of Hashd al-Shaabi forces in Iraq, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandisi, is a game-changer for Middle Eastern politics. Immediately after the attack that killed Soleimani, Iranian leadership threatened the U.S. and its allies in the region. Iran fired missiles at two American bases in Iraq in retaliation to the assassination of Soleimani. No casualties were declared in Iran's retaliatory attacks. Leaders of both countries escalated the tension, but they were careful not to let the crisis get out of control.

Trump's Iran policy completely differs from the former U.S. administration's as it contains the possibility of both winning or losing in the region

Pompeo driving force behind Soleimani strike: expert

Top US diplomat has inserted himself into US chain of command, independent analyst Mark Perry tells Anadolu Agency

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Pompeo driving force behind Soleimani strike expert
The Soleimani assassination and Iran's potential response

The Soleimani assassination and Iran's potential response

Since the killing of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and senior Hashd al-Shaabi leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in a U.S. strike at Baghdad airport, the power struggle between the United States and Iran in Iraq has transformed into a hot conflict. Washington's latest move has the potential to irreversibly up the ante in the long-standing hostilities between the two nations.

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The killing of Qasem Soleimani and his close associates in an American airstrike in Baghdad Thursday night was without question one of the most significant developments in the Middle East over the last several years – significant in terms of the profile of its target as well as the unexpectedness of such an attack.

The world has been witnessing popular demonstrations across the globe recently. From Chile and Bolivia to Hong Kong, demonstrations have cropped up against governments and ruling elites..

The growing tension between the U.S. and Iran is in the spotlight in our region. Washington is approaching Iran with a policy of "maximum pressure." They have not only strengthened the sanctions but also sent an aircraft carrier to the Gulf.

The U.S.' global influence and power is rapidly diminishing as a lack of political strategy in U.S. foreign policy is leaving the country more isolated than ever among its allies

Tehran sees Turkey's counterterrorism operation in Qandil as a threat to its influence over Iraq and across the region more generally

Regardless of what coalition forms in Iraq, the new government will face the problem of ensuring political stability, government control over non-government groups and encouraging normalization among different ethnic and sectarian elements

The Palestinian cause and Israeli aggression were at the heart of both former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser's popularity and the Iranian revolution's efforts to take down the status quo.