Relations with Turkey will not be ‘reviewed,’ says Iran
TEHRAN – Doğan News Agency
AA photo
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hossein Jaber Ansari has denied that Tehran’s relations with its western neighbor will be “reviewed,” describing Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi’s call in that direction as a “personal opinion.”“[Iran’s] official position and fundamental strategy are disclosed by the country’s leader, president and foreign minister. All differing opinions expressed by others should be evaluated as personal opinions,” Ansari told reporters on May 2.
He underlined that Iran’s current position favors continuing “strategic cooperation” efforts with Turkey, “despite differing views on a number of regional issues over the past few years.”
Ansari’s remarks came in response to Major General Safavi’s comments last week, delivered in a speech at a conference in Tehran on geopolitical developments in Western Asia.
Safavi argued that Turkey’s policies in “certain Arab states” were “coordinated with Israel and the United States” and called for a review of Iran’s economic, political and security relations with Turkey.
Turkey and Iran are on opposite sides of the war in Syria, with the former aligning its policies with oil-rich Gulf countries in support of rebel groups and the latter strongly backing the Bashar al-Assad regime.
