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Turkish-Iranian rivalry hits peak as Syria talks kick off

Both countries accuse each other of destabilizing the region and undermining security in Iraq and Syria.
Protesters shout anti-Iran slogans and hold placards in front of the Iranian embassy on December 16, 2016, in Istanbul, during a demonstration against Iranian involvement in the siege of Aleppo, the latest in a series of demonstrations in Europe over the Syria crisis. 
Turkey has provided support to the Syrian opposition and repeatedly called for Assad to go. Protests have been staged in several European cities as the horror in Aleppo has unfolded, with reports of atrocities including summary executions.
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It is hardly a secret that Turkey and Iran are regional rivals along the Sunni-Shiite divide in the Middle East, which only deepened with the failed Arab Spring. Yet rarely has the animosity spilled over into open and bitter verbal sparring.

That is what we see happening now after the latent animosity toward Iran in Turkey surfaced unexpectedly and at the highest level, when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Tehran recently of pursuing “Persian nationalism” in Syria and Iraq.

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