The Contradictory Foreign Policy Approach of Erdogan’s Government and Its Security Implications for Iran in the Context of the Syrian Crisis

One of the main issues that has attracted the attention of all analysts of the international system from the perspective of regional studies is the contradictory approach of the Turkish government toward regionalism and regional crises. The question is: how does Erdogan’s foreign policy approach explain the interests and goals of Turkey at the regional level? It seems that the Turkish government’s foreign policy approach in the modern era is accompanied by a kind of duality and contradiction. This country simultaneously plays the role of an active regional power and a mediator of stability, meanwhile pursuing its ideological and geopolitical interests through direct interventions and exploiting regional crises. The present fundamental-applied research follows a qualitative method and a descriptive-analytical approach. The purpose of this research is to analyze and investigate the foreign policy behavior of the Turkish government in regional crises, particularly the Syrian crisis and its security implications for the Islamic Republic of Iran. The findings and results demonstrate that the contradictory behavior of Turkey's foreign policy in the regional debates has had effective consequences in the regional-security parameters for the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Turkish government, by comprehensively supporting the opponents of Bashar al-Assad’s government during his presidential term and eventual fall, has exacerbated instability around Iran's borders and has increased threats from Israel and the Abrahamic Axis and the presence of extra-regional powers, further weakening the axis of resistance and reducing Iran's regional influence.