Importance of Expanding Tehran-Ankara Defense Diplomacy in the Sensitive Situation of the Region

TEHRAN (Defapress) - Recently, Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics of the Islamic Republic of Iran, visited this country at the invitation of General Yaşar Güler, Minister of Defense of Turkey, to witness the expansion of military relations between Tehran and Ankara.

Brigadier General Nasirzadeh met and talked with senior Turkish military and security officials during this trip, and the outcome of this trip can help expand relations between the 2 countries in various dimensions, one of which is the military field.

Iran and Turkey are two important countries in the West Asian region that have very good military capacity and are considered powerful countries in the military and security fields.

In recent years, both countries have been able to enhance their military capabilities by producing valuable military products; For example, the drones manufactured by the two countries and the demonstration of their capabilities in recent years, especially Iranian drones such as the "Shahed", have had a wide impact on the world, and the two countries can make good use of these capabilities to ensure regional security.

In the past year, we have witnessed the Turkish Armed Forces unveiling the "Bayraktar 2 and 3" drones, which have greatly increased the offensive capabilities of the Turkish army. The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran have also been able to increase their offensive capabilities to an acceptable level by upgrading the "Arash", "Mohajir", and "Shahed 136" drones.

The two countries have also made good progress in the missile and military fields; according to media reports, Islamic Iran has been able to greatly increase the destructive power of its ballistic missiles by upgrading the warheads of its ballistic missiles from 2 to 4 tons.

In this regard, the Turkish army has also taken a long missile step by producing the "Typhoon Block 4" hypersonic missiles with a maximum range of a thousand kilometers, which can be said to be unprecedented in the West Asian region.

One of the common threats against Iran and Turkey is the Zionist regime. Despite having business relations with the Zionists, Turkey has repeatedly had verbal tensions with senior officials of the occupying regime of Jerusalem in the last two years due to the crimes of this fake regime in the Gaza Strip, and this issue could pose a problem for the national security of this country. This same common threat means that the Zionist regime attacked Iran militarily in June of this year, but of course, the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran forced it to cease fire after 12 days.

In other areas such as terrorism, the two countries can also have good cooperation with each other; one of these cooperations could be in the field of combating terrorism on the border wall of the two countries; Also, the existence of threats such as terrorist groups such as the PKK, PJAK, Komala and Democratic party could be one of the conditions for cooperation between the two countries to combat terrorism. In the past, the armed forces of Iran and Turkey have taken good measures to combat terrorism on the borders of the two countries, especially in the provinces of Kurdistan and West Azerbaijan in Iran and the province of Hakkari in Turkey, and these measures could be expanded.

Another area of cooperation between the two countries could be the issue of Syria; if the two countries have good synergies in the military field, they can help create security and stability in Syria and resolve existing misunderstandings in this area.

Of course, Tehran-Ankara military relations will not be without challenges, because some trans-regional countries, such as the US, are trying to distance the two countries of Iran and Turkey; therefore, the need for mutual efforts and synergy between Tehran and Ankara seems essential.

The increase in Iran's military cooperation with Turkey, which was initiated by the visit of the Minister of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics of the Islamic Republic of Iran to this neighboring country, can be pursued in the following areas:

1. Countering border threats and terrorism in the region with direct cooperation between Tehran and Ankara

2. Eliminating misunderstandings that have arisen on the issue of the Zangezur Corridor

3. Transferring military experiences, especially in the field of drones

4. Expanding defense diplomacy through mutual visits by military and security officials of the two countries to confront the conspiracies of trans-regional countries

In the current circumstances, the visit of the Iranian Minister of Defense to Turkey will, in fact, be a valuable step and the beginning of a new chapter in relations between Tehran and Ankara, in which the two countries should strive to eliminate misunderstandings and achieve cooperation in the security and political fields.