Turkish Foreign Ministry summons Iranian ambassador

ANKARA

Iranian Ambassador to Turkey 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 Ankara's policies 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.

Bilgiç said Turkey denounces remarks by Iranian officials, who should remain silent out of "shame" over the situation in Kobane and the humanitarian tragedy in the region as Iran has supported the Syrian regime that is the main cause of the “terror problem.”

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Emir Abdullahyan recently accused Turkey of pursuing "neo-Ottomanist" policies 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.