Putin pretends to be a friend of Bibi, Erdogan, Khamenai and Assad. There is quick sand under that position for starters.
And so Putin authorizes the Wagner boys to shell Trump's HQ. A brilliant move NOT.
And then Putin allows the Erdogan to bomb the crap out of Iranian controlled NDF fighters stationed at the old Russian HQ in Afrin. I'm sure that facilitation went down well in both Tehran and Damascus. So do images of the Turkish flag flying high above everything else in Afrin City, mass looting and the ceremonious destruction of the Kaveh the Blacksmith statue in the town square.
(Kaveh is a hero figure of Iranian & Kurdish legend who resisted foreign despotic rule).
And now Erdogan says his troops will enter Iraq. Bluff? In current circumstances this threat is very real.
My hypothetical guess is that Khamenei is extremely happy with this course of events because it will allow him to depose the Bazarni camp within the KRG and focus on implementing a pro-Iran agenda amongst the Kurds of Iraqi Kurdistan. Iran could then continue to support the activities of the PKK within Turkey.... as they currently do but at a more intense level.
I'm back to the statue of mythical Kaveh aren't I. I don't know who Kaveh's opponent was but these blood feuds goes back a long long way and will continue.
As I see it Putin and Trump are just interlopers who can sit there, do nothing and watch it all infold. Maybe Khamenei isn't really interested in Bibi or Crown Prince Salman for now. The usual anti-US anti-Israel rhetoric may simply be a distraction from a the main event.
