TEHRAN/DUBAI: Iran and Turkiye’s foreign ministries summoned their envoys after a diplomatic spat over Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s warning of Tehran against undermining Syria’s stability.

Fidan last week gave an interview to Qatar’s al Jazeera in which he said Iran’s foreign policy relying on fighter groups was “dangerous” and needed to change. “If you are trying to cause anxiety in a third country, other countries can also disturb you by supporting groups in your own country,” Turkiye’s foreign minister added.

Iran’s foreign ministry summoned Turkiye’s ambassador over Fidan’s comments, state TV reported on Tuesday. The Iranian foreign ministry published a statement saying that a meeting took place on Monday between ambassador Hicabi Krlang and Mahmoud Heydari, the Iran foreign ministry’s Director General for the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe.

A day after Iran’s move, Turkiye summoned Iran’s charges d’affaires in Ankara. Iranian officials have been voicing criticism of Turkiye more often in public recently, Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said.

“Foreign policy matters should not be used as a tool for domestic politics in any case. In this context, we prefer to convey critical messages to another country directly. We followed this path today,” Keceli said, adding that Turkiye attaches great value to its relations with Iran.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said earlier on Monday that Tehran and Ankara disagreed over some issues. “We highly value our bilateral relations with Turkiye. Unfortunately, the words repeatedly heard (from Turkiye) were highly unconstructive, and it was necessary for Iran to decisively and clearly state its position in that regard,” Esmaeil Baghaei said. “Perhaps it is necessary for our Turkish friends to think more about the Zionist regime’s (Israel) policy in Syria and the region.”

Published in Dawn, March 5th, 2025