Ambassador Alireza Bigdeli. Hürriyet photo by Levent Kulu
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has summoned Iranian Ambassador to Turkey Alireza Bigdeli over several statements from Iranian officials criticizing policies of Ankara on Syria.
“Turkey does not need to ask permission from anyone while taking measures in line with international law against threats to its national security,” Anadolu Agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç on Oct. 17.
Turkey denounces remarks by Iranian officials who should instead remain silent to what has been happening in Kobane and the humanitarian tragedy in the region with the feeling of “shame,” because Iran has been a supporter of the Syrian regime that has caused the “terror problem” in the region, Bilgiç also said.
Bilgiç said Iran requested permission be granted from the Syrian regime for any help to the Syrian people. Turkey expressed its unease over the statements to the Iranian ambassador, he added.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Emir Abdullahyan had recently accused Turkey of pursuing Neo-Ottomanism in the region.
Iranian Chief of General Staff Hasan Firuzabadi, meanwhile, indirectly criticized Turkey for blocking aid to Kobane, a Kurdish town on Syria’s border with Turkey that has been attacked by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants.