, the Turkish foreign minister has taken his country’s concerns directly to his Iranian counterpart.
Turkish officials told Agence France Presse (AFP) that Foreign Minister Ahmet Da-vutoglu had “verbally conveyed” Turkey’s concerns to Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi on the sidelines of a recent meeting in Jeddah of the Organization of the Islamic Conference..
Employing unprecedented language, Pasdar Gen. Amir-Ali Hajizadeh last week said bluntly Iran could strike Turkey for hosting NATO’s missile defense radar.
“Should we be threatened, we will target NATO’s missile defense shield in Turkey and then hit the next targets,” Hajizadeh said in a crude threat that violated all diplomatic standards.
Turkey and Iran have increasingly been at opposite ends on various issues, including Syria, Iran’s only Arab ally that Turkey has been criticizing for its violent crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.
Turkey’s decision to host NATO’s missile defense radar has irked Iran. The radar is part of a wider defense shield and will track any Iranian missile launches toward Europe. The radar will feed its data to sites in Romania and Poland from which missiles could be fired to destroy any Iranian missiles heading toward Europe.
Turkey has said the missile defense shield poses no threat to any nation, but that hasn’t quieted the Islamic Republic.
Hajizadeh proclaimed angrily: “We are sure that the missile system is deployed by the United States for the sake of the Zionist regime. But to deceive the world, especially the Turkish people, they allege that the system belongs to NATO. Turkey is a member of and cover for NATO. Today, NATO has become a cover for the United States while the US itself has turned into a cover for the Zionist regime. Yet, the Turkish people are aware of what is happening, and we are sure that Turkey’s Muslims will stop this plot by themselves.”
According to the Turkish daily Hurriyet, Salehi reassured his Turkish counterpart that Iran didn’t share Hajizadeh’s views. But nothing of that nature was said publicly and no one in Iran has contradicted what Hajizadeh said, a point the Turks are sure to note.
Davutoglu’s talks with Salehi were not limited to Hajizadeh’s threats. Hurriyet said he also told Salehi the ransacking of the British embassy in Tehran was “not becoming of Persian civilization.”
Salehi’s comeback, if any, was not reported.
Hajizadeh’s threats are not the only ones Turkey has received, however. Russia has for years opposed the anti-missile system, asserting that it is aimed at Russian missiles. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev threatened last week to deploy missiles that could target the NATO system if Washington failed to assuage Moscow’s concerns.
Davutoglu’s response was a marked departure from the tone he adopted with his Iranian counterpart.
Speaking to reporters, he said Turkey did not feel threatened by Russia’s remarks. “If someone would attack Russia, it is their business. Our radar does not pose a threat against Russia. It is, in the end, for defensive, not offensive purposes,” he said.