Azernews.Az

Iran and Turkey have vowed to ratchet up their collaboration in counterterrorism against terrorist groups they consider common enemies on Friday, as officials from the region overwhelmed by terrorism over the last few decades rushed to Turkey to refresh arrangements and revive faith in security collaboration, Todays Zaman reported.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi met his Turkish counterpart along with several other top Turkish officials on Friday to discuss counterterrorism measures and level of cooperation between Iran and Turkey days after a deadly Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attack in the Çukurca town in the province of Hakkari near the Iraq border. The massacre that left 24 Turkish security personnel dead and close to two dozens wounded immediately triggered a cross-border offensive into northern Iraq that holds bases of the PKK in mountain zones, used as a launching pad for terrorist attacks.

"Our joint determination in the fight against the PKK and the [Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan] PJAK will continue in the strongest way possible," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu was quoted as saying by the AP. "From now on, we will work together in a joint action plan until this terrorist threat is totally eliminated."

Iran’s foreign minister, speaking at a joint conference after a meeting with Davutoğlu on Friday morning, claimed that the deaths of the Turkish soldiers could have been avoided if the US had notified Turkey that the rebels were moving into the country with heavy impact weaponry. However, Turkish officials frequently note that the US shared intelligence it obtained through drones with Turkey, and the US would be placing its homemade Predator drones on Turkish soil some time next year.

Salehi said the PKK and PJAK were "common problems" for both countries. "We need to cooperate more seriously against them," he added.

Turkey and Iran have both been challenged by terrorist organizations tied to each other by the backbone, as Iran has been fighting against PJAK, which stages attacks against the country with aspirations of autonomy for Kurds within Iran. PJAK and the PKK have been recognized as terrorist organizations by international communities as well as leading countries of the world, including the US.

During the conference, Davutoğlu commented on the US’s claims that Iran was plotting to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington, saying that he did not believe Iran would be involved in such a plot, as Salehi rejected the US allegations as weak and baseless.

Iran and Turkey found themselves at odds when Turkey announced it would agree to host a NATO early warning radar system as a means of contribution to a new defense strategy within the NATO members led by the US. The warning system, although Turkey rejects the perception, is regarded by the US as defense against missiles coming from Iran against Europe. Upon Turkey’s announcement, Iran said it was a historic mistake for Turkey and there would be vengeance for the decision, a threat that fed into allegations in Turkey that Iran uses the PKK as a coercion tool to push through with its policies in the Middle East.

Allegations regarding Iran’s capture of Murat Karayılan, the PKK’s acting leader, recently emerged as a further dash of controversy between Turkey and Iran, when it was speculated that Karayılan was captured but released due to a deal with PJAK. Salehi brushed off the allegations by saying Iran never had Karayılan, and if it had, it would have been "a real opportunity to help our Turkish brothers." However, Salehi did not answer reporters’ questions whether Iran was requested by Turkey to get in touch with Karayılan, or whether Iran had any means of contact with the PKK acting chief.

Salehi also met Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Abdullah Gül on the same day, and reiterated messages from Iran that the country was seeking to extend help to Turkey to fight terrorism, but specifics on the possible collaboration were not immediately publicized.

Salehi’s visit came on the heels of a surprise visit by another Middle Eastern country, Iraq, with Nechirvan Barzani, the number two of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and a former prime minister of the Kurdish regional administration in northern Iraq, visiting the Foreign Ministry on Thursday to express solidarity and cooperation in counterterrorism.