Tehran: Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei described on Monday the recent remarks by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan as “unconstructive” while emphasising the significance of Tehran-Ankara relations.
Speaking at a press conference in Tehran, Baghaei responded to Fidan’s comments in an interview with Al Jazeera Arabic on Wednesday, where the Turkish minister criticised Iran’s regional policies, particularly its reliance on militias in Syria and Iraq.
Fidan argued that while Iran had made some gains, its approach imposed a long-term burden on both the region and Iran’s establishment, urging Tehran to reconsider its strategy.
Baghaei said Fidan’s remarks were “frequently repeated” and “unconstructive.” He also cited Israel’s growing assertiveness in the region, particularly in Syria, and called on Turkish authorities to think more about the outcomes and impacts of their policies.
On bilateral ties, Baghaei said relations with Ankara were of “very great importance” to Tehran, Xinhua news agency reported.
He noted that although the two countries had differences over several regional issues, they had managed to preserve “good ties” by adopting “wise approaches and showing rational behaviors.”
In a post on social media platform X on Friday, Baghaei called Fidan to refrain from making the “mistake of failing to see the covert and overt hands of the United States and Israel behind the scenes of the regional developments.”
He also reminded the Turkish foreign minister of Israel’s large-scale attacks against Syria’s military facilities and infrastructure following the collapse of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government and its frequent violations of the Arab state’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
(IANS)
