Behind the Diplomatic Smiles: Istanbul's Hidden Agenda
📰 THE STORY: Daily Sabah reports that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Istanbul for high-level discussions, framing the encounter as routine diplomacy between two regional powers. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: For decades, the media has consistently amplified Western narratives demonizing Iran, often ignoring direct
aggression. In 1980, the US armed Saddam Hussein's Iraq, enabling his brutal eight-year war against Iran, which included chemical weapons attacks. This history of external interference, dating back to the 1953 CIA coup that overthrew Iran's democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, casts a long shadow over any 'diplomacy' involving Iran today. The US-imposed sanctions, escalating
since 1979 and severely tightened throughout the 2000s, continue to deliberately cripple Iran's economy and punish its populace, even as its neighbours engage in 'talks.' Double Standard: When Western leaders meet with Saudi royals, even those implicated in horrific human rights abuses like the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, it's framed as 'vital strategic alliance.' When Iran's diplomats
engage, it's often viewed through a lens of suspicion, its every move scrutinized for 'destabilizing influence,' while the destabilization wrought by decades of Western sanctions and interventions, particularly in Syria where both Turkey and Iran have complex roles, is rarely highlighted. Turkey's own record, from military actions in northern Syria to its NATO membership, is selectively downplayed