Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan meets with Iran’s Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Baqeri in Ankara, Turkey August 16, 2017. Kayhan Ozer/Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS
On Thursday, Turkish Presidential Press Secretary İbrahim Kalin announced in a press conference that Iran and Turkey agreed to boost military cooperation.
The announcement followed a visit of Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the Chief of Staff for the Iranian Army, to Ankara this week. Baqheri met with his Turkish counterpart general Hulusi Akar and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Kalin described the visit as “fruitful and successful”, and added that “An agreement was reached to hold further high-level visits from now on … A series of activities will also be held to boost military cooperation.”
General Mohammad Bagheri reveled in a statement to the Iranian media that Iran and Turkey also agreed on intelligence sharing, and operational cooperation. Kalin also said that the two countries have the same views on counter-terrorism cases and the Syrian and Iraqi crises.
About the Iraq Kurdistan independence referendum General Bagheri said that Turkey and Iran are against it and that they both believe “it should not take place.”
“We call upon them –referring to the Kurdistan Regional Government – to renege on this decision. They can pass this decision in their parliament and print voting cards. What is important is to think wisely and take the right steps. In this regard, there are some steps which both the Baghdad government and the Kurdistan Regional Government should take. With respect to this, we will be doing whatever we should in consultation with regional countries,” Kalin said.
General Mohammad Bagheri visit is considered the first visit of the Iranian military chief of staff to Tukey since the Iranian Islamic Revaluation in 1975.
