Tehran, August 26
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Tehran has stressed the need for Turkey, now working on the Syrian crisis in parallel with the Islamic Republic, to stay coordinated and avoid unilateral moves.
“Any fight against terrorist groups on the Syrian soil should be coordinated with the country’s central government,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahraq Qassemi said, ISNA news agency reported August 26.
Turkey has recently started to work alongside Iran and Russia regarding the Syrian crisis.
Tehran and Moscow recognize Bashar al-Assad as the legal government of Syria and call on fighting the terrorists and then deciding on a new, democratic government for the crisis-torn Arab country.
Turkey recently launched attacks on the Islamic State (aka IS, ISIS, ISIL, Daesh) positions in Syria by deploying forces on ground.
More than 80 ISIS targets were attacked in the first hours of "Operation Euphrates Shield" early August 24, officials said, as Turkish armor and warplanes targeted a key IS-held town across its border with Syria.
Any attack in the Syrian land should “respect the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the Iranian diplomat stressed.
Tehran claims it has avoided on-ground operations in Syria, dispatching only what it calls advisors to help the Assad army with brainpower.
A joint operations room of Iran and Russia recently decided that Russian bombers use the Nojeh airbase in western Iran to take off for attacks on terrorists in Syria. The first wave of such attacks was a success, killing 150 terrorists. Iran and Russia said the air raids may be repeated in the future if mutual consent exists.