Envoy Rejects Media Reports on Dispatch of Shiite Fighters to Help Coup Plots in Turkey

EghtesadOnline: Turkish Ambassador to Tehran Reza Hakan Tekin categorically dismissed certain media reports that thousands of Shiite fighters had been sent to his country to cooperate in the recent coup plot there.

News ID: ۷۶۸۵۷۵

25 July 2016

The Turkish envoy's dismissal came after the Turkish newspaper Yeni Shafaq claimed that 50,000 Turkish fighters had arrived in Turkey to help with the coup plots there.

"So many unreal reports were disseminated after the coup that we do not know which one to reject, but we surely do not believe and accept this report as there are no documents in this regard and this is untrue," Hakan Tekin told FNA on Sunday.

He pointed to the recent coup plot in his country, and said, "We thank God that the coup did not succeed due to the help of the Turkish people."

Earlier on Sunday, Hakan Tekin thanked Iranian officials for their rapid reaction and support for the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the recent crumbled military coup.

"Turkey had turned into the scene of a coup last week by a terrorist group which had infiltrated into the governmental structure. The coup and its failure showed the depth of democracy in Turkey," Hakan Tekin told reporters in a press conference in Tehran.

Noting that the profound relations between Iran and Turkey were displayed after the coup, he said, "The Iranian officials' positions in the first hours of the coup and their standing beside the democratic government are highly valuable to us."

Turkey faced a coup attempt by a number of Army forces on July 16.

After President Erdogan's call on the people to rush to the streets and the cooperation of part of the country's armed forces, the coup failed and security was restored across the country.

Some 290 people were killed and 1440 others were reportedly wounded in the abortive coup attempt in Turkey.

After the coup, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that he was pleased with survival of the democratically-elected government in Turkey.

"We are happy that today we are witnessing the return of stability and security in Turkey," the president said in his official Twitter account.