The Turkish connection: How Erdoğan’s confidant helped Iran finance terror – POLITICO

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Sıtkı Ayan, the businessman helping Tehran sell oil, has so far dodged US sanctions. On March 22 of 2021, several of the world’s most dangerous men descended on Beirut’s historic seaside Summerland Hotel — not to swim in the Mediterranean or explore the sumptuous resort’s “Le Beach Pop Up,” but to talk Turkey. The meeting …

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Iran, Turkey brace for face-off in Syria – Al-Monitor

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Driven apart by clashing regional interests, Turkey and Iran appear headed for a face-off in Syria, with Tehran explicitly opposing Ankara’s plan for a fresh military operation against Kurdish-held areas, wary of risks to its own posture in the region.

Turkey has failed to get a green light from the United States to press ahead with the plan, while Russia appears to be stalling. The Iranians, meanwhile, have sent militia reinforcements to two Shiite settlements northwest of Aleppo, not far from a key area in Ankara’s crosshairs, while trying to talk Turkey out from making the move — apparently with little success thus far.

Turkey and European Energy (In)Security – Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik

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The desire of the European Union (EU) to reduce its dependency on Russia for gas and diversify its sources of supply by turning to the resources of Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Eastern Mediterranean regions theoretically gives Turkey a major role in the EU’s diversification and energy security policy. However, this strategic role …

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Double Standards Haunt US And Europe In NATO Dispute With Turkey – Analysis – Eurasia Review

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Kurdish rights hardly figure in the debates, and if they do, only as a prop for taking Turkey to task for its slide into authoritarianism.

An ethnic group spread across southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq, northern Syria, and western Iran, Kurds are seen at best as assets in the fight against the Islamic State and at worst a threat to Turkish security and territorial integrity. Turkey’s estimated 16 million Kurds account for up to 20 per cent of the country’s population.

Iraqi Shia politician warns of Turkey’s plan to occupy Iraq – Mehr News Agency

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According to “almaalomah” news website, the Secretary-General of Asaib Ahl al-Haq (AAH) Qais al-Khazali made the comments in a meeting with tribal leaders in the holy city of Najaf. “The Turks have long dreamed of ‘Mosul province’, which includes parts of Iraqi Kurdistan and Kirkuk. Turkey is trying to occupy part of Iraq in 2023, coinciding with …

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Athens calls Iran’s seizure of two Greek oil tankers ‘piracy’ – Politico

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ATHENS — Greece accused Iran of “piracy” after Iranian forces seized two Greek oil tankers in the Persian Gulf in apparent retaliation for Greece’s seizing an Iranian tanker and letting the U.S. confiscate its crude oil. Greece’s Foreign Ministry complained to the Iranian ambassador in Athens over the “violent taking over of two Greek-flagged ships” …

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Iran seizes 2 Greek tankers in Persian Gulf as tensions rise | AP News

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard seized two Greek oil tankers Friday in helicopter-launched raids in the Persian Gulf, officials said. The action appeared to be retaliation for Athens’ assistance in the U.S. seizure of crude oil from an Iranian-flagged tanker this week in the Mediterranean Sea over violating Washington’s crushing …

Iran seizes 2 Greek tankers in Persian Gulf as tensions rise | AP News Read More »