Coups doomed to fail: Iran's foreign minister

EghtesadOnline: Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has voiced “deep concern” about the ongoing coup attempt in neighboring Turkey, saying the region is no place for putsches.

News ID: ۷۳۵۲۰۴

16 July 2016

“Deeply concerned about the crisis in Turkey. Stability, democracy & safety of Turkish people are paramount. Unity & prudence are imperative,” Zarif wrote on his official Twitter page on Friday night.

“Turkish people’s brave defense of democracy & their elected government proves that coups have no place in our region and are doomed to fail,” he tweeted hours later.

According to ISNA, a faction of the Turkish military declared last night that it had fully seized control of the country and that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim were no more in charge.

Erdogan and Yildirim, however, have declared the coup a failed one and said they remain in power.

Nevertheless, gunfire, bomb explosions and military airstrikes continue to be reported in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

Iran’s Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi, meanwhile, wished “security and stability” for Turkey, and said the Islamic Republic is closely monitoring the developments there.

“Our military, security, and intelligence forces have been put on alert to the necessary extent. Our borders are completely under control,” he said.

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani also said the Islamic Republic is concerned about the situation in Turkey, adding that Iran is in full control of all its ground and aerial borders with Turkey.

He further said that Tehran believes the Turkish nation’s security and peace will be jeopardized by instability in the country.

Sixty people have been reported killed in the putsch in Turkey so far.