Iranian state television quoted the Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as telling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that a military strike on Syria would destabilize the region. Erdogan is in Tehran for a summit on the Syrian conflict.
According to the report, Khamenei declared that “any military strike on Syria will harm the region and benefit the terrorists.”
The Iranian leader said in the text: “We will definitely cooperate with you in the fight against terrorism, but preserving the territorial integrity of Syria is very important to us, and any military attack on northern Syria will harm Turkey, Syria and the whole region and in the interests of the terrorists. We consider Turkey’s security to be our security and you, too, should consider security Syria is your security. The Syrian issue must be resolved through negotiations, and Iran, Turkey and Russia must resolve it through dialogue. We have always defended your government, whether in internal issues or in the face of foreign interference, and we pray for the good of the Turkish people, and as you said, we are friends in times of need.
Ankara, which has launched four operations in northern Syria since 2016, pledged to carry out more military operations to extend “safe zones” 30 kilometers deep on the border.
In a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Ibrahim Raisi, the President of Turkey said that “the solidarity of Iran and Turkey in the defense industries is important.”
For his part, Raisi declared that “our war against terrorist organizations is of particular importance, and we have included terrorist organizations such as the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the People’s Protection Units and similar groups in the list of NATO terrorist organizations.”
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit the Iranian capital, Tehran, to meet with Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei and Iranian President Raisi. This is Putin’s second foreign trip since the start of the war in Ukraine last February.
Putin’s visit to Iran coincides with the visit of Turkish President Erdogan. The two sides will meet in Tehran to discuss an agreement aimed at resuming Ukraine’s grain exports from the Black Sea.
Putin considers the West’s attempt to paralyze the Russian economy with the most stringent sanctions in modern history a declaration of economic war, and says that Russia has begun to turn away from the West and turn to China, India and Iran.
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Talks also focus on Turkey’s threat to launch new military operations in Syria, in order to extend “safe zones” 30 kilometers deep along the border.
Erdogan has threatened two months ago to launch a military operation against areas controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, of which Kurdish fighters form the backbone, starting from the Turkish border and extending to the areas of Manbij and Tal Rifaat in the countryside of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria. Turkey and Syrian factions loyal to it have since 2016 controlled adjacent border areas in the north.
“Talks with Putin will focus on grain, Syria and Ukraine. The talks will try to address issues related to grain exports,” a senior Turkish official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations are expected to sign an agreement later this week aimed at resuming grain shipments from Ukraine through the Black Sea.