Turkey summons Iran envoy over Tehran's claims about president

The move comes after Iran summoned Turkey's ambassador to the country over a poem President Recep Tayyip Erdogan read out during a ceremony in Azerbaijan. Tehran said the poem targeted Iran's territorial integrity.

FILE PHOTO: A view of the logo and buildings of Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ankara, Turkey, on October 9, 2019.
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FILE PHOTO: A view of the logo and buildings of Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ankara, Turkey, on October 9, 2019.

Turkey has summoned the Iranian ambassador over unfounded allegations made about the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to diplomatic sources.

Ambassador Mohammad Farazmand, the ambassador in the capital Ankara, was summoned by Turkey’s Foreign Ministry to hear Ankara’s condemnation of unfounded allegations against Turkey and Erdogan as well as Iran’s summoning of Turkey’s envoy to Tehran, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

During the meeting, Turkey rebuffed the allegations, stressing that if Iran has discomfort with any issue related to Turkey, it is unacceptable for Iran’s foreign minister to target Turkey via Twitter when there are other channels available to communicate.

It underlined that the manner of approach is not compatible with the close relations between Turkey and Iran, and in fact would only serve those who want to spoil these ties.

Earlier on Friday, Iran summoned Turkey's ambassador to the country over a poem Erdogan read out during a ceremony in Azerbaijan.

Turkish president recited a poem of Azerbaijani poet, Bakhtiyar Vahabzadeh, about the division of Azerbaijan’s territory between Russia and Iran in the 19th century. 

Tehran appeared concerned his remarks could fan separatist tendencies among Iran’s Azerbaijani minority.

Ambassador Derya Ors was summoned by Iran's deputy foreign minister to be told Tehran's "harsh condemnation," Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a written statement.

Ors was also told that Iran urgently expects an explanation, the statement added.

On Twitter, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif claimed that the poem Erdogan read aloud targeted Iran's territorial integrity.

On Thursday, Erdogan attended a victory parade in Azerbaijan's capital Baku to mark the country's recent military success in liberating Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions from nearly 30 years of Armenian occupation.

Turkey has become a close ally of Azerbaijan, helping it make major territorial gains against Armenians in a war that ended with a ceasefire last month.

READ MORE: Azerbaijani army takes over last Karabakh district handed over by Armenia

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