D uring Trump’s presidency, the strategy of the US Middle East policy was based on the reliance of Washington’s two main and trusted allies, Saudi Arabia and Israel. This was actually a slight realignment in the US Middle East policy as previously, among the above-mentioned Middle Eastern states, Washington greatly relied on its other, no less reliable partner and ally Ankara in regional processes.

US-Turkey relations began to deteriorate not during Trump’s presidency, but in the late 2000s. The deepening of tensions were due to the discovery of huge natural gas reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly in the coastal Exclusive Economic Zones of Israel and Cyprus. This significantly changed the foreign policy of the United States, highlighting the importance of creating new energy corridors in the Middle East. As a result, the importance of Israel, as well as Greece and Cyprus was highly emphasized for Washington though this came at the expense of Ankara’s influence.

Ankara had to build a new foreign policy in the way of developing and deepening partnership with the leading regional states, first of all with Russia and Iran, at the expense of Western nations. This has been mutually beneficial for both Ankara, Tehran and Moscow, who are trying to solve issues with the West and Washington.

The freezing of relations between the US and Ankara played a significant role in the formation of Ankara-Moscow, Ankara-Tehran regional new allied axes. Therefore, in recent years, the foreign policy strategy of Turkey towards the Middle East and other neighboring regions, including the South Caucasus, was driven by the logic of opposition to Washington, uncertain tension in the relations with the EU, as well as by the pragmatic need to deepen cooperation with Russia and Iran.

The White House hoped that by playing with the reality of strained relations with Turkey, Washington would succeed in increasing the latter’s military-political and security dependence on the US. However, the White House has largely underestimated Ankara’s foreign and economic policy strategy and its abilities to maneuver. The whole process of freezing relations with Turkey allowed the nation to be more independent and unfettered in its regional and international policy.

Tehran, in its turn, has greatly been enhancing its partnership with neighboring countries such as Russia and Turkey. Iran observes the development of this cooperation mainly as a tool or lever in the tense relations with the United States. This is of a particular fundamental importance especially within the context of Iran’s nuclear program. The deepening of Ankara-Tehran relations was also triggered by the cold relations Israel inherited with Turkey due to Washington's deteriorating bilateral relations.

The change of the head of Presidency in the US is a strong signal for different players in the region to re-position themselves in trying to adequately assess their own capabilities. Perhaps, the visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif to Turkey was aimed at that. It wasn’t coincidental that one of the key topics of bilateral talks of Istanbul refers to Washington’s position on regional processes.

During the meeting with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Cavusoglu, Zarif particularly criticized the US regional policy towards Iran and Turkey, calling for lifting the sanctions [1]. The visit itself had a symbolic role and was a message to the head of the White House, with which Tehran was expressing its readiness to continue the deepened multilateral cooperation with the countries in the region opposed to Washington.

[1] Iran's foreign minister condemns US sanctions on Turkey | Middle East Eye