Turkey: Iran does not want Ankara as part of Mosul battle

Deputy Chairman of the Turkish Justice and Development Party Yassin Aktay said yesterday that Iran is behind Iraq’s refusal of Turkish participation in the Mosul battle, AlKhaleejOnline reported.

“Iran affects the Iraqi government and it does not want the Turkish participation in the Mosul battle, but it does not clearly say this, but it has others to say it,” Aktay told the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

He added: “Al-Abadi [Iraqi PM] is pushed by Iran to tell lies. He asked Turkey to train Iraqi forces in Bashiqa, then he denies this because Iran saw that Turkey resists its agendas and conspiracies. However, Turkey will continue [fighting ISIS in Iraq] because it has the right to do so more than others.”

“Turkey pays the bill of the external interference in Iraq and Syria alone as it hosts thre million refugees… Other sides praise Turkey when it comes to refugees, but in other situations regarding its rights [to protect itself from Daesh], they reject its participation.”

The deputy of the chairman of the ruling party also said: “If Iraq is good for this country and knows its interests, it should have asked Turkey to participate in this battle and should have left Turkey to train its forces to defend Mosul instead of having Shia militias, PKK and PYD.”

He added: “Mosul residents are able to defend their city, but there are hidden agendas that push Baghdad to attempt to rule Turkey out of this issue because Turkey is able to undermine conspiracies to carry out ethnic and sectarian cleansing. Turkey annoys those who have sectarian plans in Iraq.”