Amir-Abdollahian Invites Erdogan to Visit Iran
According to Iranian media reports, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, has invited Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, to visit Iran.
Amir-Abdollahian, who traveled to Turkey, met and held talks with Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, on Monday. The Iranian Foreign Minister’s trip to Ankara came following an invitation from Turkish officials.
Amir-Abdollahian’s visit to Turkey occurred in circumstances where Israel’s Foreign Minister recently announced during his visit to Turkey that Iran’s plot to target Israeli citizens in Turkey had been thwarted with Ankara’s cooperation.
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, also alluded in a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart that a message had been sent to Iran in this regard, and that Turkey does not tolerate such actions.
Meanwhile, the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday that Iran’s Foreign Minister apparently stated in his recent remarks in Turkey that Tehran would remain silent in response to any potential military operations by Turkey in northern Syria.
Turkey has long threatened to attack northern Syria. Turkey considers Kurdish groups in northern Syria a threat to itself. American officials have expressed concern about these threats being made by Ankara. Some of these forces are considered allies of Washington in the fight against ISIS.
On the other hand, Turkey’s state news agency Anadolu reported that Turkey’s Foreign Minister said on Monday that Ankara opposes “unilateral sanctions” against Iran and hopes that the 2015 nuclear agreement between world powers and Iran, known as the JCPOA, will be revived.
Turkey had previously expressed hope that Iranian oil would return to the global market. Turkey is heavily dependent on importing energy from abroad. Oil prices have risen sharply in recent months, placing additional pressure on the economies of oil-importing countries, including Turkey’s economy, which has faced difficult times in recent months.
Source: Voice of America
