Reality disrupts Turkey's dream-team triad
Iran and Iraq show no inclination to join Turkey's potential operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party.
Since Turkey concluded Operation Euphrates Shield — its military campaign against the Islamic State (IS) in northern Syria — Ankara has been building expectations that it will make major military moves in Iraq and Syria. Its hoped-for allies, however, do not seem to share those plans, despite the media's enthusiasm.
Following the unusual visit Aug. 15 of Mohammad Hussein Bagheri, Iran’s chief of military staff, to Ankara, Turkish media reports included Iran as a participant in Ankara's potential operations against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which Turkey considers a terrorist group.
Even Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared, “Joint operations with Iran against terror organizations is always on the agenda” — something Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps quickly denied.
But Turkey’s pro-government media did not hesitate to predict trilateral operations among Turkey, Iraq and Iran after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu visited Baghdad this week. The media even quoted undisclosed Iraqi officials as saying, “We are included also.”
