Iran's Ambassador to Turkey Ali Riza Bikdeli said that Tehran keeps close relations with the Turkish intelligence agencies. According to the newspaper Asharq Alawsat, the Iranian ambassador told reporters in Ankara that there has been great improvement in the cooperation between the two countries' intelligence agencies.
It was reported last month on the Washington Post that Turkey exposed an Israeli spy network operating in Iran. Columnist David Ignatius, who is closely tied with Obama administration officials, revealed that Turkey told the Iranian intelligence of the identity of up to 10 local spies, who met in Turkey with their Mossad operator. Turkey was quick to deny the report, claiming it is "baseless".
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Photo: AP)
This week the Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu visited Tehran, several days after an interim nuclear deal was struck in Geneva. The talks between the sides naturally revolved around the Syrian crisis, where the two countries hold opposing worldviews.
However, when the meeting between the two countries' foreign ministers came to an end, Iranian FM Mohamed Zarif announced that Turkey and Iran agree that it is necessary to bring Syria to a ceasefire ahead of the peace talks in Geneva. The Turkish FM joined his Iranian counterpart's call.
The Iranian ambassador to Ankara added that Tehran is willing to aid Turkey to restore its ties with the Syrian regime, after significantly deteriorating following the war in Syria.
It is estimated that Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Iran next year and that Iran's PresidentHassan Rohaniwill arrive in Turkey next month.
Meanwhile, it was reported on the Turkish newspaper Zaman that Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu and Erdogan have not spoken since March, when US President Barack Obama was visiting Israel.
Credit to Ynet
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