Iran has been a neighbor of NATO for nearly 73 years. Turkey, as one of the most powerful NATO members, has a wide border with Iran, which is known as the border of peace and stability. Another issue is one of the important NATO bases in Adana, Turkey, 110 kilometers from Syria and 1,100 kilometers from Tehran, two-hour flight away.
The reaon for the formation of NATO and the Incirlik base was for the Cold War era and containment of the Soviet Union. It remains in place now to contain Moscow.
NATO's expansion to the East is not because of Iran, but because of the concerns of the West and the United States about Russia's expansionism. Turkey has a maritime border with the Russians.
As a NATO member, when Turkey shot down Russian military plane, the Russians avoided firing at Turkey due to NATO's collective defense philosophy because they knew they would not be an opponent of NATO and the Incirlik base.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO tried to reproduce the economic, geopolitical, and even cultural aspects of NATO and announced it in its charter.
We have been neighbor with NATO for nearly 73 years, and because of our good neighborliness with Türkiye, we will never been threatened by NATO.
On October 1, 2017, General Hulusi Akar, Chief of the Joint Staff of the Turkish Army, visited Iran and met with the then Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri. They discussed the dimensions and areas of defense and military cooperation between the two countries, as well as discussing the most important regional issues.
The issue of terrorism and cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries to confront terrorism and implement ceasefire operations in de-escalation zones in Syria, as well as the referendum in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, were also among the other topics of the talks.
Hulusi Akar's visit was the first visit by a high-ranking NATO military official to Iran after the revolution.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, several Eastern European countries, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, joined it in 1999.
Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia joined in 2004, Albania and Croatia in 2009, and Montenegro and North Macedonia in 2017 and 2020, respectively.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, some called for NATO to be dissolved, but the founding members drafted the original treaty and defined a new strategy for it.
For example, there was disagreement over how many countries should join. Britain wanted to keep NATO small and strong, but the United States wanted the organization to include smaller and weaker countries that were likely to succumb to Russia.
However, today, countries do not have to be members to cooperate with NATO. Partnerships with non-NATO countries began in 1991.
The goal is to help these non-member states become modern and stable with the help of armed forces. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Ukraine - three NATO partner countries- have expressed interest in joining NATO.
Today, any European country can join NATO as long as it accepts the obligations and commitments of membership.
For example, since 2016, Ukraine has been working with NATO through a comprehensive assistance package and enjoys the support of NATO allies in accordance with NATO standards.
On the other hand, the "Trans-Caspian" includes the route of China, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, the Caspian Sea, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey and Europe.
The United States has created the "Trump Corridor Consortium". 9 companies, three of which are American, will invest in the Trump Corridor. The US share is 40% and the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia's share is 30% each.
Regarding the "Trump Corridor", it should be noted that this agreement is between the United States and Armenia and does not include the Republic of Azerbaijan, and Baku has no involvement in it.
It has also been stated that one thousand armed forces will provide and maintain the security of it.
Turkey has supported this agreement, but it is outside the scope of the agreement, but it will definitely be in the matrix of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United States and will apply an open door policy towards Armenia.
The meeting of "Pashinyan" and "Aliyev" before the meeting with Trump and Erdogan has angered the Russians, otherwise the Russians themselves are among the supporters of the Zangezur Corridor to get out of energy isolation and connect to Syria and the Mediterranean through Turkey.
It was clear from the begining that Armenia would finally reach an agreement on the Zangezur Corridor to break the deadlock, has now become the playground of the US against Iran and Russia.
The Russian issue is not NATO, the Russian issue is the share of the toll roads and the presence of Russian forces in the security of the corridor and the member states of the Mediterranean Sea Forum and the exclusive economic zone of the Mediterranean on the coast of Syria, which the Russians claim to have.
Turkey is not worried about this, because through the Republic of Azerbaijan, it can station its forces in Zangilan and Nakhchivan, even in the toll roads.
Now the question is where in the corridor's policy, charter, declaration and statutes has it been defined as a way to confront Iran, which some have exaggerated this issue in such a way.
NATO has shared a common border with us for 73 years. It is Russia that could not and does not tolerate the membership of Ukraine and Georgia in NATO, because it knows that sooner or later it will be surrounded by NATO.
We have a 534-kilometer border with NATO through Türkiye. The question is, nothing happened in these 73 years and there was no talk of NATO, now with 43 kilometers of the Zangezur Corridor, NATO suddenly came?
While by forming numerous organizations such as the countries bordering the Aras River, the Republic of Azerbaijan benefited from its benefits by requesting a corridor to the Black Sea.
Do not give others the wrong address with NATO, such as neo-Ottomanism. Today, modern geopolitics cannot be interpreted with old stories, and Russia is not against the Zangezur Corridor, because it has no other way but to export its oil and gas and connect to the Mediterranean Sea through the Zangezur Strait.
Another question is, when Iran attacked US bases in Iraq and Qatar, did NATO respond? No. Because the United States was not attacked.
Do not raise a false flag with NATO, such as neo-Ottomanism. Today, modern geopolitics cannot be interpreted with old stories, and Russia is not against the Zangezur Corridor, because it has no other way but to export its oil and gas and connect to the Mediterranean Sea through the Zangezur Corridor. Another question is, when Iran attacked US bases in Iraq and Qatar, did NATO respond? No. Because the United States was not attacked.
By Dr. Reza Solat
