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Turkey and Iran summoned the other country’s ambassador this Sunday, according to the official media of the two countries, in an escalation of the dispute related to the Turkish presence in Iraq.
Although Turkey and Iran are rival countries in various regions of the Middle East and Central Asia, they have carried out operations against Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq.
Earlier this month, Turkey accused Kurdish militants of killing 12 Turks and an Iraqi who were being held hostage in northern Iraq.
The incident prompted the Iranian ambassador in Baghdad, Iraj Masjedi, to warn that Turkish forces “should not pose a threat or violate Iraqi territory.” In an interview broadcast on Saturday, he said: “We absolutely do not accept that Turkey or any other country will intervene militarily in Iraq or that it will advance and have a military presence in Iraq.”
Turkey’s ambassador to Baghdad, Fatih Yildiz, was quick to respond, saying on Twitter that the Iranian ambassador was “the last person authorized to lecture Turkey” on respecting Iraq’s borders.
Turkish Foreign Ministry officials summoned Iranian Ambassador Muhammad Farazmand to inform him that Turkey expects Iran to back it in what it claims is the “war on terror,” according to the official Anatolia news agency.
Officials informed the ambassador that Turkey “completely rejects” Masjedi’s statements, emphasizing that Ankara always informs concerned authorities, including Baghdad, of its plans to attack militants.
On the other hand, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Ankara ambassador to Tehran, in the context of the statements made by the Turkish Interior Minister, Suleiman Soylu, about the presence of Kurdish militants in Iran, according to the official agency of Iranian news “IRNA”. .
Soylu reportedly indicated last week that there are “525 terrorists” in Iran.
“IRNA” reported that Iranian officials emphasized that their statements are unacceptable and contradict the cooperative efforts of the two countries.
The Iranians also insisted in their conversation with the Turkish ambassador, Derya Urs, that Tehran is serious in its intention to fight terrorism, and rejected Yildiz’s “unwarranted” statements.
The article expresses the opinion of its author and is not necessarily the policy of the site.
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