As social activists in Iran gathered for a demonstration against the Turkish government’s policy toward the situation in Kobani, both Reformist and Principlist media outlets have started criticizing the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Both events have highlighted the existing differences between the approaches of the Iranian government and that of Turkey regarding the crisis in Syria.

Since Oct. 15, there has been an increase in the number of demonstrations by social activists in support of the people of Kobani, a northern Syrian city bordering Turkey. Al-Monitor was present at the demonstration in front of the United Nations’ office on Shahrzad’s Boulevard in Tehran and estimates that about 1,000 people were present. Well-known leftist personalities such as Fariborz Raisdana and Morad Farhadpoor were also present.

These demonstrations are usually organized either by activists with socialist tendencies or by the Kurdish activists who live in Tehran. The demonstration was peaceful but radical, and violent slogans were uttered by the participants against the government of Turkey. “Down with the fascist government of Turkey” and “Down with Erdogan” were among the slogans chanted by the demonstrators.

Mahsa, a woman who had taken part in the demonstration and was holding pictures of Kobani’s children, said to Al-Monitor, “Turkey’s policy is really disgusting. What Erdogan did in Kobani, or better yet what he didn’t do, badly damaged Turkey’s reputation. I'm here to ask Turkey to change its policy so Kobani can prevail.”