WarSclerotic

Oman Tribune – the edge of knowledge.

ANKARA Turkey’s foreign minister has conveyed Ankara’s concerns about an Iranian commander’s recent remarks that Teheran will hit Nato’s missile shield in Turkey if threatened, a ministry official said on Thursday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu “verbally conveyed our concerns to his Iranian counterpart,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Davutoglu met on Wednesday with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on the sidelines of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation meeting in Jeddah.

The commander of the aerospace division of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards recently said Teheran will target Nato’s missile shield in neighbouring Turkey if it is threatened by military action.

“We are prepared to first target the Nato defence missile shield in Turkey if we are threatened. And then we’ll move on to other targets,” Amir Ali Hajizadeh was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.

Although Iranian officials have said several times they could retaliate with ballistic missiles against Israel if attacked, Hajizadeh’s remark was the first time the Revolutionary Guards spoke of targeting Turkey.

Turkey has agreed to host an early warning radar system in its southeast as part of Nato’s shield which the United States says is aimed at thwarting missile threats from the Middle East, particularly Iran.

Turkish officials insist that the shield targets no specific country.

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