Historical breakthrough but not a noble one

      Talking of strange bedfellows, there we go again

It's the first visit by an Iranian military chief to Turkey since 1979.  One of their top agendas is to focus on increasing "information exchange in the field of counter-terrorism."   Cooperating on counter-terrorism with Erdogan is like a fire-crew fighting to douse a wildfire, seeking assistance from the arsonist who lit it.

Ties between Iran and AKP's Turkey went as far as trade and commerce.  It's now extended to military agreements.   More than a little surprising, the visit also threatened the near-future visit of Erdogan to Tehran for discussions on all spheres of geopolitical issues.  Even a buffoon like the King of Morocco refused to meet Erdogan feigning illness when the Turkish leader visited Rabat couple of years ago.

Soon after Donald Trump took office, the Turkish President hurriedly renounced Daesh (ISIL) after years of deadly collaboration.   However, both Trump and Turkey are still counting on Nusra Front and its votaries to continue the war in Syria.   How can Iran prefer not to consider that?

Vulnerability often leads to impetuousness.   Qatar's showdown (of sorts) with the rest of the gulf states is another trigger, stirring emotions.  Qatar supposedly sacrificed its traditional relations with the kings and sheikhs for its sudden sympathy for Iran. Though Tayyip Erdogan has been a longtime partner of Saudi Arabia and its AlQaeda mercenaries, he is basically in the Brotherhood block.   Since July 2016 his bond with MB has deepened after a horde of MB men converged in Istanbul to join AKP supporters to quell the coup.  Thus, between the Sauds and the Qataris, Erdogan has chosen the Qataris who are in cahoots with MB.   Furthermore, both Qatar and Turkey are presently at odds with the adversaries of Iran:  Political romeo Qatar, has been ostracized by the Kingdom for falling in love with Iran and Tayyip Erodgan has subtly been deemed a pariah by the White House.   Joining all the dots from start to finish, Iran is trying to convince her conscience that after all, poor Tayyip may not be that bad a guy.

At the root of the Qatari-Turkish theatrics which is melting Iran's heart is the nostalgia of Muslim Brotherhood of the late 1970s when it purportedly backed the Iranian revolution .. without realistically reviewing the facts that in the past 39 years MB has changed drastically .. evolving from a reputable welfare foundation into a hardline salafist-sectarian cult barely different from AlQaeda.  Still nurturing that 4-decade-old fantasy, the Iranian media in 2013 harshly criticized the ouster of Mohamed Morsi, the man who boasted of his MB marauders toppling Bashar al-Assad and "stomping" his body .. the man whose cheerleaders threw shoes at Mahmoud Ahmedinejad during his visit to Al-Azhar University .. the man whose adherents brutally murdered and dragged into the streets the bodies of an Egyptian Shiia cleric and his three companions from a Shiite Mosque.  It was the first such incident in Egypt's Islamic history where sectarian violence is unknown as it was in Syria prior to 2011. 

Though not a good enough reason, the upcoming Kurdish referendum in Iraq is another issue bringing Iran and Turkey closer.  Referendum for independence of Iraqi Kurdistan was initially planned for mid 2014 but had to be postponed after ISIL occupied northern Iraq.  After the liberation of Mosul last July, the referendum has been re-scheduled for September 25, 2017.   Both, the Iranian military chief and Turkish president are against it, fearing it could deepen the unrest in Iraq and within their own countries .. their prime concern being their own countries.   Like Ankara, Tehran's relations with Iranian Kurds hasn't been trouble-free.

It's unfortunate that such a visit had to take place in the midst of Turkey's ongoing remorseless foreign policy largely responsible for decimating a fifth of Syria's population.   Iran's needless and frantic eagerness seeking friends among known enemies spells nothing except insensitivity and indignity.