Iran and Middle East Studies / İran ve Orta Doğu Çalışmaları

  Soon after the Arab Spring shattered Arab politics in the early 2010s, Bashar al-Assad, who had replaced his father as the head of the Baath regime in Syria, has faced with a cohort of domestic, regional and international challenges that aimed to force him to leave the power. Iran has remained one of few international actors that have stood alongside the Assad administration. In this regard, Iran’s policies have varied from diplomatic support to the mobilization of militia forces and troop deployment in support of Assad. Since then Iran’s motivations for standing behind Assad have been questioned by many analysts. Arguments that were put forward to explain Iranian policy toward Syria during the crisis have been ranged from a hypothetical view of Iranian fear of encirclement by the hostile forces to a sectarian consolidation under the Shiite axis. This article asserts that Islamic Republican regime in Iran has a keen interest in maintaining a foothold in Syria, and circulated seve...

Federalism in Syria, PYD and Ambivalent Position of Iran 2017-04-04 After the escalation of clashes between the Syrian regime and its opponents, the Assad administration withdrew its armed forces from some pre-dominantly Kurdish inhabited settlements in the north of country. Thus, the Syrian Kurds have experienced self-administration in those settlements since July 2012. Afterwards, they built ‘autonomous’ ‘canton’ administrations led by PYD (Democratic Union Party), the Syrian offshoot of PKK. In due course, the PYD has created alliances with various actors inside and outside Syria in the name of ‘fighting against ISIS’. Its armed wing, YPG consolidated its grip over the ground and expanded its sphere of control due to its partnership with the Syrian regime, and American and Russian support.  Former US Secretary of State, John Kerry  told the Senate foreign relations committee  in February 2016, ‘it may be too late to keep it as a whole Syria whole’ if they fail ...

The “Fall” of Aleppo and Iran 2017-02-06 It was announced on December 13, 2016 that the forces affiliated with the Assad government and its allies seized control in the east of Aleppo. Russian Representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin stated that Syrian army retook control of the regions held by rebels, and a deal was broken for the withdrawal of rebel fighters from the city. Therefore, the armed opposition groups who had been holding a part of Aleppo since July 2012, had to leave the city. Whereas the supporters of the Assad administration viewed this development as the “liberation of Aleppo”, the opposition and its supporters called it the “fall” of Aleppo. Even though it was not the end of Syrian civil war, the “fall” of Aleppo remarkably excited Assad supporters in Syria and the region. Iranian government, who resolutely backed the Assad government since the outbreak of crisis, and provided it with every kind of support, delighted with the “fall” of Aleppo. Irani...

From 2011 to Astana: The Cost of Iranian Policy Towards Syria 2017-01-24 Iran has stood behind the Assad administration since the outset of demonstrations against the regime in Syria. The initial differences among some Iranian officials regarding the meaning of the demonstrations in Syria, and responses of the Assad administrationsoon replaced by a policy that envisaged standingbehindAssad. Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution,proclaimed in June 2011 thatIran would stand behind the Syrian regime in the face of the opposition protests, which, heclaimed, were organized by external forces, and served American and Israeli interests. Although the content and rhetoric of Iranian support for the Assad administrationhave changed over time, the essence of this policy has not changed. The scope of the military and economic support to the regime provided byIran that has never withdrawn her political support from Assad,has gradually expanded. Support for the ...

Trilateral Meeting Between Turkey, Iran and Russia and the Moscow Declaration Bayram Sinkaya Diplomatic interactions have been accelerated between Turkey, Iran and Russia since August 2016. Issues like the crisis in Syria, the Operation Euphrates Shield, and fight against terrorism have constituted the main agenda of those diplomatic contacts. Additionally, there has been an ongoing close cooperation between Iran and Russia particularly with regard to Syria. After the Russian involvement in the Syrian crisis, the two countries have set up a joint ‘information center’ in Baghdad in order to coordinate their relations, which has also been joined by the Assad administration and the Iraqi government. Iran permitted Russian warplanes to use its aerospace and airbase in Hamadan. They have also assigned Alexander Lavrentiev, Special Representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin for Syria, and Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Supreme National Security Council of Iran, for the c...