Iran's Rohani Says Turkish Intervention In Iraq 'Very Dangerous'

Iranian President Hassan Rohani says Turkey must get permission from the Iraqi government to take part in the operation to retake the city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS) extremist group.

"We regard as very dangerous [acts of] intervention by foreign countries without any coordination with the host country," Rohani said during a visit to the central Iranian province of Markazi on October 24.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said on October 24 that "it is not acceptable at all if a country, under the pretext of combating terrorism or any other crimes, tries to violate the sovereignty" of another country.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi has called for Turkey to keep out of the operation to retake Mosul.

But Ankara has refused and insisted it will participate in the offensive.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on October 23 that Turkish tanks and artillery were supporting the Kurdish Peshmerga forces battling IS militants near Mosul.

Some 500 to 1,000 Turkish troops have been positioned near Mosul since late 2015 at a military base known as Camp Bashiqa where they have been training Sunni Arab tribal militia fighters and Peshmerga troops for the fight against IS.

###

http://www.rferl.org/a/iran-rohani-turkish-intervention-dangerous/28072358.html