The nations of Iran, Turkey and Iraq are friends and brothers.

President Mahmud Ahmadinejad 

TEHRAN, Oct. 28

President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said here on Sunday that the nations of Iran, Turkey, and Iraq are “friends and brothers.”

“The destiny of all of us is intertwined,” Ahmadinejad told the visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan.

Ahmadinejad said the enemies are planning to dominate all countries through a long-term plan and “do not want the regional countries including Iran, Turkey, and Iraq to be powerful and live in peace.”

The president said the presence of foreign troops in the region is a source of insecurity.

“The occupiers threaten the security of the regional people and they are like a microbe which harm the ‘health of the region,” the president noted.

Referring to the PKK attacks on Turkish army from northern Iraq, the president said “The Iraqi president and prime minister are definitely against terrorist actions in the region and they do everything to crack down on terrorists.”

The president said it is time to help the Iraqi government and nation.The Turkish top diplomat also insisted on the need to preserve the territorial integrity of Iraq and establish peace and security in the country.Babacan said all countries have right to fight terrorists and thanked the Islamic Republic for its campaign against terrorist groups.

Foreign hands are behind terror acts in the region

Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said on Sunday that foreigners are behind terror acts in the region. A terrorist group known as PEJAK, which is considered a breakaway faction of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), also launches regular attacks inside Iran from bases in northern Iraq.

“We see the hands of the Zionist regime and the United States behind some of the terrorist movements that are organized in the region,” Mottaki told reporters in a joint news conference with Babacan. However, the Turkish foreign minister said, “I do not think that the U.S. is helping the terrorist groups.”

Mottaki said terrorist acts have inflicted injuries on Turkey, Iraq, and Iran.

Babacan said that Turkey will take any necessary step in fight against terrorism in the proper time and place.

He also thanked Iran for its fight against the outlawed PKK.Mottaki condemned the recent PKK attacks on Turkey and expressed sympathy with the victims’ families. Mottaki voiced hope that regional cooperation would help resolve the scourge of terrorism in the region as soon as possible. The Turkish foreign minister stated that PKK is attacking Turkey and many civilians have been killed as a result of the attacks.

He called for greater international support and said that Turkey has “all political, economic, and military options on the table” for confronting the Kurdish militants in northern Iraq. Mottaki said, “We condemn terrorism... and I think through cooperation, we will be able to overcome such small groups which have based their logic on terrorist acts.”

Turkey opposes influence of foreign powers in northern Iraq

Turkey is massing troops on the border with Iraq and threatening to invade if Baghdad cannot stop cross-border attacks by PKK rebels. Iraq says it cannot confront the rebels in their remote mountain hideouts but has promised to take steps to stop them launching attacks on Turkey. Ankara has so far rejected the proposals as inadequate.

The Turkish minister said his country’s fight against the PKK should not be interpreted as a war against Iraq.

“Our fight against PKK is not a fight against Iraq and we strongly oppose the influence of foreign powers in northern Iraq and recognize the northern Iraq as port of the whole Iraqi land,” the Turkish minister insisted in talks with Mottaki. The Iranian chief diplomat also said “we condemn the moves of the terrorist groups from the Iraqi soil and believe that terrorism should be confronted with.”