Turkey’s Iran Policy: Moving Away from Tradition?

Based on the traditional framework of Turkish foreign policy, one would have expected it to encourage Iran to comply with the requirements of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), while trying to persuade the United States and other members of the UN Security Council that diplomatic means should be given continued priority. But in the final analysis, as a natural outcome of its traditionally pro-Western foreign policy orientation, Turkey would not have led the effort to oppose the measures that were adopted by the Security Council. The fact that Turkey has chosen to cooperate with another emerging power — Brazil — to challenge the way the international nuclear order operates, appears to signal a fundamental shift in the way policy is formulated.

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