Turkey summons Iranian envoy over disturbing remarks by Iran’s Baghdad ambassador

ANKARA

Turkey has summoned Iran’s ambassador to Ankara, Mohammed Farazmand, over the remarks by the Iranian envoy in Baghdad, who harshly slammed Turkey’s anti-terror operations in the territories of Iraq.

Ambassador Farazmand was invited to the Foreign Ministry on Feb. 28 after Iran’s ambassador to Baghdad, Iraj Masjedi, demanded that Turkey should leave troops from Iraq and halt military operations.

Turkey’s expectation from Iran is to lend support to Turkey’s fight against terrorism and not stand against it, the Iranian envoy was told, according to sources who underlined that both Iraqi and Iranian governments were fully aware that Ankara’s objective was to eradicate the PKK terrorists.

Sources recalled that Turkey and Iraq were in an agreement over securing the Iraqi territories by clearing the PKK from there. Iranian ambassador was also told that all the militia groups should be taken under control of the Iraqi government in a bid to make the anti-terror fight in Iraq more effective. There are various armed militia groups in Iraq who are under the control of Iran at the expense of destabilizing the neighboring country.