Iran insists that air strikes in northern Iraq coincided ‘by chance’ with Turkey’s

The Iranian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that the country’s air strikes in northern Iraq coincided with Turkish strikes “perhaps by chance”, Al-Quds Al-Araby has reported.

“Combatting terror is a joint effort by all the countries in the region, including Iran, Turkey and Iraq,” explained spokesman Abbas Mousavi. “It is natural for Iran to defend its borders and destroy terror bases wherever they are.”

He pointed out that Tehran maintains contact with Iraqi officials in this regard and they are aware of Iran’s activities against the terror groups which are well-known in the area. “Iranian and Turkish air strikes against terrorists coincided, perhaps by chance. Anyway, all the countries in the region act seriously against terror.”

Earlier this month, Iran targeted Kurdish PKK areas in northern Iraq while Turkish operations were conducted in the same region, also against the PKK.

The government in Baghdad summoned the ambassadors of both countries, protested about the strikes and asked them to respect Iraq’s sovereignty.

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