Turkey protests to Iran envoy in Iraq row

ANKARA: Turkey on Sunday summoned Iran’s envoy to Ankara to demand support in the fight against “terrorism”, escalating a rumbling row over Turkey’s presence in Iraq, state media reported.

Iran and Turkey are rivals in several parts of the Middle East and Central Asia but both have carried out operations against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq. Earlier this month, Turkey accused Kurdish militants of killing 12 Turks and an Iraqi who were being held hostage in northern Iraq,

The incident prompted Iranian envoy to Baghdad Iraj Masjedi to warn that Turkish forces should not “pose a threat or violate Iraqi soil”. “We do not accept at all, be it Turkey or any other country, to intervene in Iraq militarily or advance or have a military presence in Iraq,” Masjedi was quoted as saying in an interview broadcast on Saturday.