 |
In an interview with VOA (Voice of America), Mehmet Rıza Heyet stated that Iran’s reaction to the poem recited by Turkish President Erdoğan during the parade in Baku was a hasty decision made under pressure. According to him, Iran unintentionally removed the Turkish issue from being a taboo by reacting impulsively to it—an issue it had attempted to suppress for nearly a century.
"With this reaction, Iran essentially demonstrated that its weakest point is Turkishness. I will do whatever it takes to suppress Turkishness," said Heyet, a lecturer at Ankara University.
"I didn’t expect this because relations between Turkey and Iran, especially in recent years, had been at a certain level. Turkey had always stood by Iran, particularly concerning sanctions. To step outside the diplomatic framework at this level and use disrespectful language to insult President Erdoğan was truly unexpected," Heyet remarked.
Mehmet Rıza Heyet noted that “since the Pahlavi era, Iran's foreign policy has sought to turn the Turkish issue into a taboo.”
He explained, "For a long time, since the beginning, starting with the Pahlavis, Iran has pursued a policy of denying the existence of a Turkish issue in Iran. The Turkish issue in Iran, especially on the international stage, had been accepted as a taboo. No state openly addressed or clarified this issue. However, with this recent reaction, Iran itself opened up the Turkish issue—which is its most sensitive matter and weakest point—to discussion worldwide, removing it from being a taboo. This has brought the issue into public debate."
Heyet argued that this reaction harmed Iran and would steer future developments in a direction contrary to Iran’s traditional policies.
According to him, "these events have undoubtedly benefited the national movement [in Iranian Azerbaijan]. Internally, the national movement has a very limited operational base, and its activities are often reactionary. During the Karabakh conflict, the national movement emerged as a distinct factor. It showed the world that it could act as a force capable of restraining the Iranian government. For example, only the activists of the national movement managed to stop the arms and equipment shipments from Iran to Armenia. This was very significant. I believe Azerbaijan, Turkey, and other countries will value this in the future. At the time, it demonstrated that there is a force capable of halting Iran’s actions. Javad Zarif’s behavior and subsequent statements confirmed the strength of the national movement."
According to Mehmet Rıza Heyet, Iran was one of the losers in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, and its hasty reaction to Erdoğan’s recitation of the poem arose from the atmosphere of pressure created by this defeat.
"Iran was forced to distance itself from Armenia and lacked the capacity to rebuild the trust and confidence it should have had with Azerbaijan. This led to significant backlash within Iran. Persian nationalists strongly criticized why Iran failed to hinder Azerbaijan’s advances or suppress the movement in South Azerbaijan. After Erdoğan recited the poem, the Iranian government saw it as an opportunity to capitalize on the sentiments of Persian nationalists, attempting to ease the pressure it was facing," he added.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
“Cavad Zərifin Ərdoğana təpkisi İrandakı türk məsələsini tabu olmaqdan çıxardı”