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| Babak Bakhtavar, Political Activist |
After the fall of Assad's regime in Syria, there has been a noticeable increase in writings and statements against Turkey in Iranian media and the Persian-speaking political environment.
Speaking to Voice of America, political activist Babak Bakhtavar stated that any event in the region that leads to the strengthening of Turkish identity is perceived as a threat by Tehran.
The political activist also mentioned that after the Second Karabakh War, Tehran's anti-Azerbaijan policy became fully apparent.
He explained, “During the first Karabakh war, Iran was somewhat cautious, trying to mask its anti-Azerbaijan policy under a neutral stance. However, after Azerbaijan’s victory and the restoration of its territorial integrity in the second Karabakh war, this policy came out into the open. Iran's open support for Armenia blatantly exposed its anti-Azerbaijan policy.”
Babak Bakhtavar believes that, particularly after the start of the Gaza conflict, the anti-Turkish rhetoric within the Iranian government, especially from "neopan-Iranist" forces, has intensified.
“These neopan-Iranist and Iran-centric factions have infiltrated the state structure. We see that even some Turkish politicians, who try to act neutrally on issues such as the Zangezur issue or relations with Turkey, are labeled as pan-Turkists. They do not tolerate them either. Even Pezeshkian, who is a person from within the ruling regime, is called a pan-Turkist,” he said.
The political activist pointed out that political events that lead to the strengthening of Turkish identity in the region are viewed as threats in Tehran.
“One issue is that we know that the population of Iran is not predominantly of Persian ethnicity. According to their own statistics, Persians make up barely 50 percent. The majority are non-Persians, and among these non-Persians, Turks make up the largest population. Therefore, any event that leads to the strengthening of Turkish identity in the region scares them. This fear does not stem from the strengthening of Turkey or Azerbaijan, but rather from the national awakening of Turks within Iran,” Babak Bakhtavar added.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Babək Bəxtavər: Tehranda türk kimliyinin güclənməsinə yol açan hər olay təhdid olaraq dəyərləndirilir