Iran to Turkey: Stay away from Israel

Iran demands that Turkey stick with Muslim interests and stay away from reconciling with Israel.  

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari reacted to the recent reports that Turkey was on the way to normalizing its relations with the Israel, saying “Muslim countries should adopt policies that guarantee the interests of Islamic nations.”

“Islamic countries should adopt policies that do not negatively affect their interests, the interests of the Islamic Ummah [nation] and the basic rights of the Palestinian nation that has been fighting the occupation for decades,” he said During his weekly press briefing on Monday, according to Iranian Press TV.

Israel and Turkey have reportedly reached a preliminary agreement to normalize ties following the deterioration in relations in 2010.

Ansari said that Ankara’s move to improve ties with Tel Aviv “does not present a good picture to the region… Turkey has problems with [its] neighbors,” while saying that Turkey should pave the way for the resolution of regional problems through adoption of policies in cooperation with its neighbors.

“Ankara is seeking to foster relations with the Zionists aimed at playing a pivotal role in the Middle East conflicts,” he added.

Turkey and Iran have been at differences over the civil war in Syria, with Turkey supporting the Sunni rebels, and Iran supporting Basher al-Assad’s regime through the Hezbollah terror organization and with Iranian troops operating on Syrian soil.