The explosions that took place in the Defense Ministery’s facilities in Esfahan, Iran’s third biggest city, is one of the manifestations of the tensions in the region since the Armenia war.
The tensions are not central to Tehran alone. Of course, they include Syria, Israel, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, the gulf countries, and Türkiye.
Baku interpreted the attempted attack on Azerbaijan’s Tehran embassy as, “The result of an anti-Azrbaijan movement that has been ongoing for some time in Iranian media.” It can be said that the attack created panic in Tehran as well. Hence, the fact that the first intervention on the event was unorganized, the police chief’s dismissal, and the serial statements from top authorities were balanced after 36 hours only. (One of Tehran’s fear is the potential of the tension to trigger internal instigation.) Ankara did not waste any time after the event to raise its voice and remind everyone exactly where it stands.
Then, Tehran and Baku met at the highest level, with a telephone call between presidents Ebrahim Raisi and Ilham Aliyev.
However, these normalization attempts cannot easily alleviate the pains caused between the two countries by the radical geopolitical change that emerge with the Azerbaijan-Armenia war! Iran’s close position to Yerevan, in fact, right at a time when the U.S. (CIA) and the U.K. (MI6) are resuming action for Armenia, and the UN decided to deploy 100 peacekeeping forces in Armenia for Nagorno Karabakh, is closely followed by “associated” countries.
The moment the Esfahan explosions happened, it spread in waves that this was Israel’s operation. This is still the prevailing opinion today.
The CIA chief, who manages to instantly cause “change” everywhere he goes, being in Tel Aviv at the time of the attack further strengthened claims.
This is a case in which Israel has expanded its presence in the region, as well as its anti-Iran policy before the Armenia war by supporting Baku in the war. Türkiye and Azerbaijan have finally updated their diplomatic relations with Israel simultaneously, Türkiye normalizing relations with Israel by appointing an ambassador at the same time Azerbaijan opened its first embassy there, points us to the direction of the curveball.
Iran is concerned about the military deals, and weapon purchases between Baku and Tel Aviv. Zangezur is already in the bag.
Surely, in Israel’s case, its practice over all of them, the continuity of the “preventive” attitude against Iran, and now the calls to do something, Israeli President Herzog’s statement during his UN and NATO visits (Jan. 27), “The Iran threat is at Europe’s door. You need to fix the distance illusions,” is proof of this.
In other words, if Israel was the one that attacked Esfahan, it did it primarily for its own sake, but it is also that it sought the timing of the attack on the embassy as well.
Iran is a country whose protest waves within, economic troubles, separate tables with Europe and the U.S. through the nuclear deal, and relations with the gulf, Iraq, Syria, and Türkiye need to be analyzed exclusively. However, what is important is its movement in the strategy cliche, the “big map.”
China and Russia are backing Iran. This support creates an area of influence from the east, and reaches all the way to the East Mediterranean/Cyprus. The Ukraine war’s realities sometimes strengthen Russia’s role in this influence, while sometimes limiting it. Yet, there is no question about its close relations with Iran – especially when the matter concerns Syria (including Iraq).
The effect of the flow is not measured much in Türkiye and the region. We can relatively observe Moscow, but we are unable to focus as clearly on China’s attempt to expand its influence.
This line is now under China’s radar and is obviously now included in Beijing’s plans.
Only one and a new example can show how strongly China is advancing.
“Chinese company group, Gezhouba Group (a subsidiary of China Energy Engineering Corporation) offered to invest $10 billion on the infrastructure projects in Northern Iraq’s Autonomous Kurdistan Region. Kurdistan Investment Committee Chair Muhammed Şükrü said the group proposed to invest the money on railway networks, energy projects, highways, dams, and other sectors.” (‘Chinese firm offers to invest $10bln in Kurdistan projects’, 23/01, Zawya. It sad the origin of the broadcast is the U.K.)
Thus, these attempts are the result of a new and rough competition in the region between great powers. They are the battles for dominance, the way Saudi-China relations hold back the U.S. Baghdad’s attempt to take control over its Türkiye and Iran border by eliminating these countries’ presence in Iraq by establishing a new group called the “border guards,” can also be included.
Meanwhile, Israel continues its despicable acts in sacred places, on occupied Palestinian lands without paying any attention to – or rather because of – the increasingly expanding protest demonstrations within. In addition, it is not only keeping a close watch on the Türkiye-Syria meetings that will take place in February through Russia’s mediation but also hitting Iranian presences on the Iraq-Syria border, and in Damascus.
Israel-Russia relations is another sensitive border. Reports that U.S. weapons have been moved from Israel’s storage to Kyiv since the Ukraine war is further instigating chaos in the region.
We will continue to register the other activated lots under the “Big Map” title deed.
