Iran’s Speaker Slams US for Backing Attack on Russian Jet
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani criticized Turkey for making the mistake of shooting down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border, describing Washington’s voice of support for such a move as even a bigger mistake.
“Turkey’s action against Russia was a big mistake, and (US President Barack) Obama’s support for this move is a bigger mistake that leads to the spread of clashes across the region,” Larijani said in a Wednesday meeting with Luxembourgian Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn in Tehran.
The Iranian speaker warned that the shooting down of the Russian aircraft and the US’s words of support for Turkey would escalate the situation in the region and consign the fight against terrorism to oblivion.
Turkish fighter jets shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 bomber near the Syrian border on Tuesday.
Turkey claims the incident happened after repeated warnings over airspace violations, but Moscow said it could prove the jet had not left the Syrian airspace.
Meanwhile, US President Obama spoke to his Turkish counterpart by phone on Tuesday and “expressed US and NATO support for Turkey’s right to defend its sovereignty,” the White House said.
Elsewhere in the Wednesday meeting, Larijani called for efforts to destroy the cultural and social roots of terrorism, stressing that terrorist threats, especially those posed by Daesh (ISIL), jeopardizes the whole world.
For his part, Asselborn emphasized the need for peace and security in the Middle East, saying crisis in the region will put the security of the European countries in danger as well.
