Head of Turkish Intelligence in Tehran; Negotiations on Kurdish Parties and the Situation in Syria

The head of Turkey's intelligence agency visited Tehran and met with the Minister of Intelligence of the government of Masoud Pezeshkian and the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council. Anadolu Agency reported on Saturday, February 9, that Ibrahim Kalin discussed the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the situation in Syria, ISIS, the ceasefire in Gaza, and developments in Palestine during his meeting with Ismail Khatib and Ali Akbar Ahmadian. The issue of Kurdish parties, particularly the PKK, is of special sensitivity for Turkey and the Islamic Republic, which refers to this party as 'terrorist.' Iranian domestic news agencies did not publish news about the meeting between the head of Turkey's intelligence agency and the Iranian Minister of Intelligence, only mentioning his meeting with Ali Akbar Ahmadian, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. In a joint statement published by these media outlets, including the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) and ISNA, the relations between the two countries were described as 'very close' and 'brotherly.' This is while during the Syrian civil war, Iran and its allied militias defended Bashar al-Assad's government, while Turkey supported the armed opposition against the Syrian government. Ali Khamenei also stated in late December that the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime was a 'joint plan' of the United States and Israel with the help of 'a neighboring country.' It seemed that the Supreme Leader's reference was to Turkey, which several regional experts have also acknowledged, stating that with the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's government, regional developments turned in favor of Turkey. Additionally, on Saturday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, discussing bilateral issues and the 'situation in Palestine.' The presidents of Iran and Turkey met and discussed for the first time since the fall of Bashar al-Assad at a summit in Cairo in late December.