Iran Reiterates Neutrality in Conflicts between Kurds, Turkey
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli stressed that Tehran has adopted a neutral position on the ongoing conflicts in Turkey between the central government and Kurdish fighters in border areas.
There is unrest in Turkey’s border areas due to the country’s stances on Syria and its supports for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group, Rahmani Fazli said in a meeting with the southern city of Kerman’s Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Yahya Jafari on Monday.
Kurdish people residing in border areas have practically become a threat to the central government, he added.
The minister pointed to Iran’s stance on the conflicts between the two sides in Turkey, saying that Tehran has frequently declared neutrality.
“Every country should decide on its own internal affairs,” he noted.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Rahmani Fazli reiterated Iran’s support for Syria, Yemen and other Muslim countries around the world.
Earlier on Monday, Iran’s police chief said the country’s northwestern borders have been temporarily closed by order of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) in an apparent response to unrest in neighboring Turkey.
Iran’s decision to close land border with Turkey comes at a time of heightened tensions between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) forces and the Turkish troops, after the collapse of a two-year cease-fire and Turkey’s resumption of air raids on PKK targets in northern Iraq.
