Turkey and Iran: limits of a stable relationship

Throughout the twentieth century, Turkey and Iran have enjoyed peaceful, if not always cordial relations. The Cold War strategic orientations of these two neighbours solidified that relationship. The Iranian Revolution posed the first major challenge to the stability of the Turco‐Iranian relations. However, throughout the 1980s Turkish and Iranian officials adroitly managed their differences, though they did not succeed in resolving them. During the 1990s, the pressures and polarities impinging upon Turco‐Iranian relations have both multiplied and intensified. Ranging from the exertion of US influence on Turkey, to the changing political dynamics in Turkey and Iran, Turco‐Iranian relations today rest on unsteady ground. Although the exact course which Turco‐Iranian relations will take remains unclear, there is reason to be concerned about its current state. For, to a significant degree, the stability and prosperity of the Middle East region depends to a significant degree on maintaining the stability of Turco‐Iranian relations.