Senior Iranian MP Pessimistic about Turkey’s Anti-ISIL Campaign
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Boroujerdi on Saturday questioned the seriousness of Ankara’s recent campaign against ISIL terrorist group.
“Turkey’s policies on Iraq and Syria are very floating, and in the current situation, Turkey is worried about its security,” Boroujerdi told the Tasnim News Agency, referring to Turkey’s decision to bomb Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group positions.
“Turkey, however, has taken a new step in this regard, but I am not optimistic if the moves are serious confrontation with ISIL,” he added.
Earlier in July, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham said Tehran welcomes counter-terrorism efforts by all states, but at the same time asked for respecting the sovereignty of other countries in the fight against extremism.
Turkey has recently launched airstrikes allegedly against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) bases in northern Iraq as well as ISIL positions in Syria after a deadly bomb attack left 32 people dead in the southwestern town of Suruç, across the border from the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani.
The move came as the Turkish government is believed to be one of the main supporters of the terrorist groups fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since 2011, with reports showing that Ankara actively trains and arms the militants operating in Syria, and also facilitates the safe passage of would-be foreign terrorists into crisis-hit areas.