Why Did the Iranian Media Support Kemal Kilicdaroglu and Incite Against Recep Tayyip Erdogan?

Similar to international media outlets, the Iranian press closely monitored the Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections, which took place on May 14th and witnessed a presidential runoff on the 28th of the same month.

In the reports published prior to the second round of the presidential elections, Iranian newspapers pondered: would it be better for Iran if President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the candidate of the People’s Alliance, continued to lead Turkiye, or would his opponent, the candidate of the Nation Alliance, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, be more favorable?

Erdogan emerged victorious with over 52% of the total votes, while his Justice and Development Party (AKP) led the legislative elections, securing a comfortable majority in parliament with 323 seats out of 600.

 

Which Option Is Better?

The Iranian press took a keen interest in closely monitoring the Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections. This attentive coverage underscores the Iranian press’s support for Kemal Kilicdaroglu, as they perceive President Erdogan’s re-election as potentially detrimental to Iran’s interests.

Reformist and moderate media outlets argued that it would be in Iran’s interest for Kemal Kilicdaroglu to become the President of Turkiye, while conservative media outlets expressed a more hesitant tone without fully aligning with Erdogan.

The official Iranian news agency, IRNA, published Erdogan Wins Presidential Elections as a headline once the results of the second round became clear.

After Erdogan’s victory was confirmed, IRNA quoted the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, which published an analytical report titled What Will Erdogan’s Foreign Policy Be Like After Victory?

The analysis was based on the argument that Turkiye, under President Erdogan’s leadership, would strengthen its relations with Iran and Russia during his new presidential term.

Additionally, the Iranian news agency cited another analysis from the Atlantic Council regarding Erdogan’s difficult path to revive Turkiye.

This analysis claims that Turkiye faces various security, political, and economic challenges, which necessitate President Erdogan to adopt new approaches and plans.

The semi-official Iranian news agency, Tasnim, published a three-part analytical series titled Turkish Elections – Meaning of Erdogan’s Re-election for Turkish Foreign and Domestic Policy.

The newspaper stated that Erdogan has gained the trust of the Turkish people and will govern the country for another five years. It was said that “changes will occur in Turkiye’s domestic and foreign policy, especially in the Middle East and Caucasus policies.”

It was emphasized that the Caucasus region is one of the areas that will witness political and regional developments after Erdogan’s victory.

The news agency, Tasnim, opened a special section on its official website dedicated to the Turkish elections and appointed Ali Heydari to closely follow them.

The Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard and the Quds Force, quickly shared the developments with its followers by creating a dedicated page on its website to display the results of the second round of the presidential elections.

Mehr News Agency published a report titled How Erdogan Won the Turkish Presidential Election?, claiming that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) does not have a plan to deal with the economic crisis and affirming that the president’s remaining term will pass under difficult conditions.

The agency, Fox TV, and the most-followed opposition media outlets in Turkiye, along with the Sozcu newspaper, agreed on the idea that “Erdogan won by a very small number of votes, which is why the country is socially divided into two halves, like a watermelon,” according to their description.

The Iranian government-affiliated newspaper, Shahrvand, published a headline stating the Ambiguous Period of the Tribe Leader and included a caricature resembling President Erdogan to the Ottoman sultans.

It is worth mentioning that the same newspaper wrote the headline Turkiye Drifting Toward Dictatorship in a news article published in 2017, which caused tensions between the two countries.

The newspaper also published a brief biography of President Erdogan under the subtitle From Selling Sesame Bread to Attending Islamist Circles.

 

The Coverage of the Elections

Persian media outlets highlighted statements made by the leader of the Republican People’s Party, Kilicdaroglu, in 2011, where he mentioned that his ancestors came from Khorasan and Erzurum. During the recent elections, he also declared himself an Alevi through a video posted on his official Twitter account.

Some Persian media outlets circulated reports suggesting that Kilicdaroglu has Iranian origins, based on his statement about his ancestors coming from Khorasan.

The Iranian news website Entekhab published a video titled Who will win the elections? Is Erdogan a competitor for Iran? And which candidates will benefit Tehran?

The website stated the following: “Turkish–Iranian relations are moving in a positive direction, but they have been affected by several factors, such as Erdogan’s policies towards Syria and his stance on the relations between Azerbaijan and Iran.”

The report further stated: “Iranian officials will not be pleased with Kilicdaroglu’s victory due to ideological reasons, but his Iranian and Alevi background might evoke sympathy.”

Although Kilicdaroglu’s victory would cause difficulties in the relations between the two countries, the relations between Iran and the West will remain balanced, and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action related to the nuclear agreement will be revived, according to the report.

The newspaper Etemad Online, affiliated with the Iranian reformist politician Mehdi Karroubi, asked the question: Erdogan or Kilicdaroglu: Which victory is favorable for Iran?

The newspaper stated in its report that Erdogan’s re-election will not be in Iran’s interest, and the mutually friendly relations are not a priority for the current Turkish president.

The news included allegations that the idea of the Justice and Development Party establishing friendly relations with Iran is untrue, and that Erdogan’s new Ottoman policies pose a threat to Tehran.

IRNA also published an assessment titled Erdogan or Kilicdaroglu?

It stated that “even if Iran does not support Erdogan, the opposition will be pro-West, and even if Kilicdaroglu does not declare himself an enemy of Tehran, the opposition will not remain neutral on certain issues concerning Iran.”

The Iranian newspapers based this assessment on a video by Kilicdaroglu titled Neither West Nor East, This Road Is Turkish, which was published during the election period.

In the video, Kilicdaroglu announced a project for a trade route connecting Turkiye with the Turkic world and China, with Iran as an alternative route instead of Azerbaijan.

The newspaper Kayhan, affiliated with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, described President Erdogan as “Islamic secular” and targeted Iranian reformists through the Turkish elections.

It stated: “While Iraq and Syria prefer to bear the heavy consequences of Erdogan’s policies, Iran adopts a patient approach and awaits developments.”

The newspaper confirmed that the West would be pleased with Erdogan’s defeat. It also mentioned that the elections would have a significant impact on the security of Europe and the Middle East, and the elected candidate would determine the fate of many events.

Furthermore, while the news cartoons depicted Kilicdaroglu as more self-confident, Erdogan was portrayed as more shaken.

 

The Century of Turkiye

The Iranian media expressed displeasure with President Erdogan’s election campaign slogan, “The Century of Turkiye,” referring to the second centenary of the republic. Erdogan used the phrase “Turkiye’s Century” before the start of the election campaign and repeatedly mentioned that they would build it in the next five years.

Prior to the start of the election campaign in Turkiye, the Tasnim News Agency, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, published a three-part article titled Does the ‘Century of Turkiye’ Dream Have Real Dimensions?.

In the first part of this article, the agency highlighted three important questions that could challenge the “Turkiye’s Century” slogan.

The agency included the following data in its report: “Erdogan, who announced the goals for 2023 twelve years ago, can hardly achieve any of these goals.”

It wondered: “How will the Turkish economy achieve this exaggerated and overly ambitious goal despite being in the most dangerous positions?

“Turkiye is a country in need of energy and spends around 60 billion dollars of its GDP each year on oil and gas purchases.

“This situation directly affects the people, and they live below the poverty line,” according to their claims.

The article also questioned: “Is it still possible to talk about rapid development in a country like this? Erdogan’s team includes academics and intellectuals such as Burhanettin Duran and Ibrahim Kalin. Why don’t these academics and intellectuals speak out about the exaggerated ‘Turkiye’s Century’ slogan?”

The second part of the article begins with criticism, stating that “while a powerful and important country like China does not make such exaggerated claims, Turkiye claims to have left its mark on the 21st century in the fields of economy, science, and defense,” according to the author.

In this part of the article, strong objections were raised to the phrase “the Century of Turkiye,” and two other questions were posed:

First, do the political leaders and other parties in Ankara, like Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party, think about The Century of Turkiye? Can The Center of Turkiye be seen as a national dream?

Second, what kind of preparations and infrastructure does the Justice and Development Party, which has been in power for 20 years, have to transform the remaining 77 years of the 21st century into “Turkiye’s Century”?

The Tasnim News Agency concludes its article with the following statement: “In the end, the exaggerated claim that the 21st century will be Turkiye’s election and party slogan’ will remain, according to its description.”