Turkey demands explanation from Iran for attack threat

Turkey demands explanation from Iran for attack threat
Turkey demanded an explanation from Iran for the threat by a senior lawmaker to attack missile defense system in eastern Turkey, a local media reported on Wednesday.

Private NTV reported that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made a phone call to his Iranian counterpart Ali-Akbar Salehi and demanded his explanation.

The report quoted Turkish diplomatic sources as saying that the Turkish foreign minister said Turkey is discontent with the threatening statement.

Hussein Ibrahim, vice president of the Iranian parliamentary national security and foreign policy panel, said on Sunday in an interview that "it is Iran's natural right to target the missile defense shield system in Turkey in case of an attack."

The Iranian foreign minister told Davutoglu that the statement is only a reflection of the individual and is not Iran's official position.

Turkish diplomats said earlier that the Iranian foreign ministry had assured them that the ministry does not back such threats and the threats do not reflect any ministerial policies.

The Turkish officials also reiterated Ankara's position that Turkey should only acknowledge statements from Iranian officials actually in charge.

Ibrahim's remarks came shortly after a similar suggestion by Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' aerospace division, who explicitly voiced the warning that "should we be threatened, we will target NATO's missile defense shield in Turkey and then hit our next targets."

Both warnings fall in line with previous comments by a number of other Iranian officials, as they have frequently said the country is disturbed by Turkey's participation in the NATO defense system.

Editor: Yang Lina

English.news.cn   2011-12-14 21:16:58              
ISTANBUL, Dec. 14 (Xinhua)