Turkey firm against any assault on Iran

Turkey is against any military strike on Iran, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said Nov. 12, warning that speculation risked destabilizing the region.

 “We do not think it is right even to talk of possible military intervention in the region. We are against such intervention and believe it would create more instability,” Davutoğlu said at a press conference before his departure to Serbia for a formal visit.

Davutoğlu said Turkey could not accept even “the slightest chance of any military intervention” in the region, “not only this or that country, the whole region must be free of nuclear weapons. It is unacceptable that countries suspected of having nuclear weapons cause new tension in our region.”

His comments came amid speculation that Israel could launch a strike on Iran with President Shimon Peres warning last weekend that an attack was becoming “more and more likely.” Tehran responded by threatening to hit back against any attack or even the threat of military action.

 The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), meanwhile, made its hardest-hitting assessment yet about Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons drive. “It is necessary to eliminate nuclear weapons not only in this or that country, but in the whole region,” Davutoğlu said.

 The Turkish foreign minister called on both Iran and the U.N. atomic agency to be “clear and open” in their allegations and responses. “Allegations by the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran’s answers to those allegations should be crystal clear. We cannot afford ambiguities and unnecessary tensions on this issue,” Davutoğlu said.

Davutoğlu said talks between Iran and Western countries should resume at once over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. He also said Turkey supported the contents of a letter sent by EU’s High Representative Catherine Ashton to Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.

Compiled from AFP and AA stories by the Daily News staff