On 10 December 2020, Turkish president

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

was attending the Baku Victory Parade in the

Republic of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russi ...

. There, he read parts of a controversial poem, which, tapping into themes of Azerbaijani irredentism and

pan-Turkism Pan-Turkism () or Turkism () is a political movement that emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals who lived in the Russian region of Kazan (Tatarstan), Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917), South Caucasus (modern-day Azerbaijan) and th ...

, subtly suggested a territorial affinity between

Iranian Azerbaijan Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan (, , ), also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq and Turkey to the west and Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijani exclave of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republ ...

and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The incident sparked tensions with

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

; the Iranian government denounced Erdoğan's remarks as an act of challenging Iran's sovereignty, and a number of Iranian citizens protested at Turkish diplomatic missions in their country. Erdoğan had been in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

to commemorate Azerbaijan's victory over

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

in the

Second Nagorno-Karabakh War The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict in 2020 that took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, surrounding occupied territories. It was a major esca ...

, which ended when a Russia-brokered ceasefire agreement came into effect on 10 November 2020.

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

officially denies the accusation that it supported the Azerbaijani military during the conflict.

Incident

Context

The poem recited by Erdoğan is called ''Gülüstan'', and was written by the

Soviet-era The history of the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, ...

Azerbaijani poet Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh. It laments how the

Aras River The Aras is a transboundary river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, between Iran and both Azerbaijan and Armenia, and, fin ...

has "separated"

Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; , ), Azeris (, ), or Azerbaijani Turks (, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group living mainly in the Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan region of northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. They are predomin ...

and is one of the symbols of

, seeking the cultural and political unification of the

Turkic peoples Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West Asia, West, Central Asia, Central, East Asia, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members ...

, including those in

. The poem is part of a literary genre that was conceived in the

Azerbaijan SSR The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union be ...

of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, the context of which is related to

. This Soviet Azerbaijani "literature of longing" had become dominant in the 1950s and 1960s. As a rule, works that belonged to this category, as the Azerbaijani historian and political scientist Zaur Gasimov explains, "were examples of blatant

Azerbaijani nationalism Azerbaijani nationalism (), also referred to as Azerbaijanism () originated as a result of the Pan-Turkist agenda expressed during the October Revolution and historiography under the Soviet Union. Azerbaijani nationalism is characterized by irre ...

stigmatizing the 'division' of the nation along the river Araxes, as well as denunciations of economic and cultural exploitation of

Iranian Azerbaijanis Iranian Azerbaijanis (; ) are the largest ethnic minority of Iran. They are primarily found in and are native to the Iranian Azerbaijan region including provinces of (East Azerbaijan, Ardabil Province, Ardabil, Zanjan Province, Zanjan, West ...

, etc." Such themes, including Vahabzadeh's poem, were incorporated into the history and literature curricula of the Azerbaijan SSR. Gasimov adds: "An important by-product of this literary genre was strongly articulated anti-Iranian rhetoric. Tolerance and even support of this anti-Iranian rhetoric by the communist authorities were obvious." Vahabzadeh, for instance, was decorated on numerous occasions by the ruling communist authorities for his work, which were incorporated into the school curriculum of the Azerbaijan SSR.

Erdoğan's recitation

The section of the poem recited by Erdoğan said: "They separated the Aras River and filled it with rocks and rods. I will not be separated from you. They have separated us forcibly." In Iran, the poem brought to memory the legacy of the

Treaty of Turkmenchay The Treaty of Turkmenchay (; ) was an agreement between Qajar Iran and the Russian Empire, which concluded the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828). It was second of the series of treaties (the first was the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan and the last, the ...

, which

Qajar Iran The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic peoples, Turkic origin,Cyrus G ...

was forced to sign with the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in 1828, resulting in the former's cessation of swaths of lands in the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

to the latter. The lands ceded by the treaty, which set the boundaries between Iran and Russia at the Aras River, now constitute large parts of the Republic of Azerbaijan,

, and

. Due to the significance of the Russian victory, the treaty continues to be viewed as a mark of shame on Iranian history during the reign of the Turkic-origin

Qajar dynasty The Qajar family (; 1789–1925) was an Iranian royal family founded by Mohammad Khan (), a member of the Qoyunlu clan of the Turkoman-descended Qajar tribe. The dynasty's effective rule in Iran ended in 1925 when Iran's '' Majlis'', conven ...

Reactions

Iran

After a video of Erdoğan's speech in

circulated online, Iranian social media was awash with angry posts that demanded a resolute response from the Iranian government. Dozens demonstrated in front of the Turkish consulate in

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

(one of the largest cities populated by

) to protest against Erdoğan's supposed questioning of Iran's territorial integrity. Many Iranians quoted

Sattar Khan Sattar Khan (, , October 20, 1866 – November 17, 1914), honorarily titled Sardār-e Melli ( meaning ''National Commander'') was a pivotal figure in the Iranian Constitutional Revolution and is considered a national hero by the Iranian people. ...

, who was an Azerbaijani and an important figure in the

Iranian Constitutional Revolution The Persian Constitutional Revolution (, or ''Enghelāb-e Mashrūteh''), also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911 during the Qajar era. The revolution led to the establishment of a parliament in I ...

, and is thus considered to be a national hero in Iran. Iranian social media was also united "in saying Erdoğan must refer to Iran's history, which spans thousands of years, before supporting separation." On 11 December, Iranian foreign minister

Javad Zarif Mohammad Javad Zarif (; born 8 January 1960) is an Iranian career diplomat and academic. He served as the vice president for strategic affairs from August 2024 to March 2025.Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

: Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh tweeted: "The Turkish ambassador was told that basing foreign policy on illusions is not wise," advising Turkish officials to read history. The foreign ministry summoned Turkey's ambassador to Iran in an act of protest. A vast majority of Iran's parliament (225 out of 290) signed a statement that was subsequently read out loud on television, strongly condemning Erdoğan's remarks. According to the joint statement, the poem was considered "surprising and unacceptable." Iranian deputy speaker of parliament

Ali Nikzad Ali Nikzad (; born 1961) is an Iranian Iranian Principlists, conservative politician and a member of Iranian parliament. He is an academic and a former cabinet minister. Early life and education Nikzad was born in 1961. He holds a bachelor's de ...

said: "Mr. Erdoğan, you have either not read history or wish to distort it." The Tabrizi representative in the Iranian parliament Mohammad Reza Mirtajodini tweeted: "Erdoğan has overstepped his boundaries and has apparently forgotten where he had turned to on the night of the 2016 coup!"

Turkey

The Turkish foreign ministry summoned Iran's ambassador to protest against the remarks made by the Iranian government. Turkish presidential communications director Fahrettin Altun said the government condemned "the use of offensive language toward our president and our country over the recitation of a poem, whose meaning has been deliberately taken out of context". Altun added that the poem "passionately reflects the emotional experience of an aggrieved people due to Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijani lands (...) It does not include any references to Iran. Nor is that country implied in any way, shape or form". Turkish foreign minister

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (; born 5 February 1968) is a Turkish diplomat and politician who is currently a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Grand National Assembly. He also served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Turkey), Minister o ...

stated that "baseless and heavy statements made by Iran and aimed at our president are unacceptable". Çavuşoğlu assured that "Erdoğan fully respects Iran's national sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Aftermath

In the days following the controversy, Iranian president

Hassan Rouhani Hassan Rouhani (; born Hassan Fereydoun, 12 November 1948) is an Iranian peoples, Iranian politician who served as the seventh president of Iran from 2013 to 2021. He is also a sharia lawyer ("Wakil"), academic, former diplomat and Islamic cl ...

said that Iran could move beyond the row over the poem recited by Erdoğan. He stated: "In my opinion, with the explanations (Turkish officials) gave, we can move beyond this issue, but the sensitivity of our people is very important."

References

{{Recep Tayyip Erdoğan 2020 controversies 2020 in international relations 2020 in Azerbaijan 2020 in Iran December 2020 in Turkey 21st century in Baku Turkish nationalism Azerbaijani nationalism Pan-Turkism Aftermath of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War Recep Tayyip Erdoğan controversies Anti-Iranian sentiment Iran–Turkey relations Azerbaijan–Iran relations Azerbaijan–Turkey relations