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Iran does not favor Turkey’s al-Bab offensive, prefers regime operation
[Hurriyet Daily News] The Syrian regime should conduct a military offensive in the al-Bab region instead of the Turkish army, according to Iran, a Turkish diplomat has told the Hurriyet Daily News."They are in the view that a combat against DEASH [Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... of Iraq and the Levant] should rather be conducted by the Syrian regime," the diplomat said, elaborating on discussions between ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... and Iranian officials regarding Syria. "Iranians think that the Euphrates Shield Operation was not a proper step and that Turkey will not be able to reach its goals through this operation," said the diplomat. If Ankara abstains from military incursions into Syria, the Turkish army "will not be harmed," Iranian officials told their Turkish counterparts, according to the diplomat, who asked to remain anonymous. Turkey is aware that Tehran is not "happy" with the Euphrates Shield Operation, since Tehran does not want to see a strong Turkish military campaign in both Syria and Iraq, the diplomat said, referring also to Turkish troops’ presence at the Bashiqa military camp in northern Iraq. Tehran has put pressure on Iraq to force Turkey to withdraw. Iran expects the Turkey military presence in Iraq and Syria to be terminated as soon as possible, the diplomat noted. Turkey launched a military incursion into Syria on Aug. 24, 2016, in support of Syrian rebels to try to drive ISIS away from the border area, and has frequently carried out raids on suspected Death Eaters’ safe houses in Istanbul and other cities. An Iranian-made unmanned drone was used in an attack on a Turkish military camp in northern Syria on Nov. 24, killing four soldiers, the Hurriyet Daily News reported earlier. When Turkish officials raised the issue to their Iranian counterpart, Tehran said "they were not involved" in the attack, the diplomat said. In September 2016, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi voiced Tehran’s concern over the Turkish troops’ deployment in northern Syria, and called for the swift pullout of Turkish forces from the region. "Although the fight against terrorism and efforts to maintain regional stability and security are an unchangeable and important principle in the foreign policy of peace-seeking countries in the region, this issue cannot and should not be used as a justification for violating the territorial integrity of another country by conducting military operations against that country without coordination with its central government, and by overlooking its national illusory sovereignty," Qassemi Posted by: Fred 2017-01-14 |
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