Turkey's Relations with its Middle Eastern Neighbors.

The article focuses on Turkey's relations with its Middle Eastern neighbors. Turkey drew some indirect benefits from the Iranian revolution. The Iranian revolution and Iran's defection from the western camp helped to strengthen Turkey's ties with the U.S. The collapse of the Soviet Union led to the emergence of a number of independent republics in the Caucasus and Central Asia. For Turkey, as for Iran, these religious and cultural links, as well as geographical proximity, have offered opportunities to expand political influence and thereby opened up a new field for rivalry between the two countries.