The role of religion in the Turkish-Iranian relations

The Safavid State, who had made its appearance as the first offical Shiite State at the beginning of 16th century, and its Relations with the Ottoman State had full of disputes. When the Turkish Republic and the Pehlevi regime in Iran has established in 1923, the Relations had begun to improve and all of the disputes had disappeared. During this period, the problems related with the sect factor had lost its importance. After the Islamic Revolution had occurred in Iran, good Relations between the two countries began to deteriorate due to the political system differences. The Relations after 1996 and afterwards had the tendency to improve while the conservative Islamic Parties in Turkey had risen to power. This period shows that the religion has a positive impact on the Relations unlike the Ottoman Period. After the Ottoman State and the Iran Islamic Revolution, religion and the regional factors had affected the Relations more than the factors which are outside the region. Although the foreign policies of the two countries seemed to be West oriented and the global balance politics in the Pehlevi period, the foreign policies of Iran and Turkey pursue nowadays involve strategies to follow balance politics that are related with the region. The religion factor has somehow, directly or indirectly, affected the Relations between Iran and Turkey.