The strategic Saudi-Turkish collaboration will isolate Iran, according to a researcher in international relations, who was speaking in the context of the recent visit of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to GCC countries. The Turkish President's tour is not the first nor will not be the last, Dr. Omar Abdul Sattar, who is a former member of the Iraqi Parliament, said in an interview with Al-Riyadh Arabic newspaper, sister publication of Riyadh Daily. He noted that the most important aspect of the tour was its timing. Erdogan visited the region at a time when Turkey is seeking to be part of the new regional and international era in the aftermath of the presidency of Donald Trump and the new US administration's policy towards Iran. The new policy rejuvenates American relations with its traditional allies – GCC countries and Turkey – as against the rather cold ties during the Obama era. "We all know that Obama was getting closer to Iran and had concluded the Lausanne Treaty. This had enabled Iran to pursue its expansionist designs and devise the fall of Sanaa in 2014, thus undermining Gulf security," he said. Dr. Omar added that it soon dawned on Saudi Arabia and Turkey that they had been targeted. In response, the two countries launched the Decisive Storm and Operation Euphrates Shield, he said, terming the strategic Turkish-Saudi relationship as one based on a strong determination to defend the region. The two countries had made great steps to isolate Iran from Arabs and Muslims in 2016. Turkey has become a member of the Islamic Military Alliance and has joined the North Thunder, a joint military exercise involving a number of Muslim and Arab countries. The accession of Trump has further galvanized these efforts as the new administration is seeking to curb Iranian influence, he said. The tripartite Turkish-Gulf-US collaboration is consistent with the policies adopted by them since the end of World War ll. The partnership grew stronger during the Kuwait Liberation War and was further affirmed after the Istanbul Initiative 2004 and when NATO opened its first center in Kuwait in January 2017. Dr. Omar further elaborated that Erdogan's recent tour may probably be in preparation of further isolating Iran and reducing its influence in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Beirut. He said that the Saudi-Turkish collaboration was reflected in the historic, NATO-like Islamic Military Alliance announced by Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on May 15, 2015. The Alliance was expected to play a significant role in ending the disorderly religion-state relationship in the region and the world ever since Iran began exploiting the resultant chaos in 1979. It has exploited the chaos with its cross-border armed militia, besides 300 of its own militias within its borders controlled by the Revolutionary Guard. Dr. Omar further said that Iran has used these militias to create turmoil in four Arab capitals and undermine local, regional and international security. They sparked the spread of "Islamophobia" in the East and West. If the Islamic Military Alliance succeeds in isolating Iran on multiple fronts, it will not be able to stir trouble in the region any longer, he said. He described the Saudi policy of reaffirming its regional and international relationships as "deep and sound." As the leader of the Arab world, Saudi Arabia is well-positioned to assume responsibility for regional security. The steps taken by the Kingdom to base its international alliances with countries rather than militias – as against the line adopted by Iran – are indeed wise, he noted. Dr. Omar recalled the formation of the GCC in 1981 under the leadership of Saudi Arabia and said this was an early indicator or the regional leaders' far-sighted and prudent strategies. It reflects their awareness of the risks posed by Iran to the region. The renewed Saudi partnership with Turkey is the fruit of the mature policies pursued by the Kingdom, he said. In this respect, Dr. Omar pointed out, Saudi Arabia would be as patient as a bedouin, waiting to retaliate, even if it may take 40 long years. Saudi Arabia is the cornerstone for security and stability in the Middle East, and Erdogan's visit is a step in this direction, he said. Had it not been for Saudi Arabia's determination to ensure regional stability, the Kingdom would have been a victim of induced turmoil, just as in the case of some other countries in the region, since the emergence of Iran as an aggressive force. Saudi Arabia has been able to diffuse Arab-Arab conflicts and assume a leadership role among Arabs at a critical phase in which Arabs were thought not have a place in the new east. With its resolute stand for regional peace, Saudi Arabia has succeeded in bringing Arabs, Turks and Kurds together, "an achievement seldom accomplished for centuries." Thus, the civil wars in the region would soon be ended, Dr. Omar said, pointing out that the Kingdom and its allies would not only succeed in liberating other countries from the clutches of Iran, but also the Iranian people from a regime stuck in the Middle Ages, without a future in view.
