Turkey Says Opposed to Foreign Meddling in Iran Affairs
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned attempts by foreign countries to interfere in Iran’s internal affairs following the recent protests against high prices in the country.
“Turkey attributes great importance to the preservation of peace and stability in Iran,” the Turkish ministry said in a statement on Monday, according to Yeni Safak news agency.
Rejecting attempts by foreign powers to meddle in Iran’s internal affairs, the ministry expressed the hope that peace will be restored to the Islamic Republic as soon as possible.
The statement further said, “In this context, we believe the statement of President (Hassan) Rouhani (of Iran) that people have a right to peaceful protest but the law should not be violated and that public property should not be harmed should be taken into account…”.
Some cities in Iran have been scenes of demonstrations in the past days after prices of several staples rose by up to 40 percent.
During the rallies, people called on the government to help control rising food prices and inflation, but some opportunists attempted to turn the situation ugly and materialize their vested interest at the cost of social security.
The situation across Iran has returned to normal after officers of the Iranian Law Enforcement Force took timely action and brought everything under full control.
Sporadic violence has erupted during the protests, causing a number of deaths.
Addressing a Cabinet session on Sunday, President Rouhani said the Iranian people were completely free to express their criticism of the government or stage protests according to the Constitution and citizenship rights, and in a way that would lead to the improvement of the country's conditions.
