Iran mostly speechless after Israel, Turkey agree to restore ties
“This is just a game the U.S., Israel and Turkey are playing to influence the Islamic awakening,” says Iranian deputy chief of staff in only comments out of Iran on Israel-Turkey reconciliation • Abbas welcomes deal • Erdoğan to visit West Bank, Gaza.
Daniel Siryoti, Israel Hayom Staff and Reuters
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (left) with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. [archive] | Photo credit: Reuters
Iran was left scrambling for ways to deal with the news of Israel and Turkey’s reconciliation, with one senior official accusing the U.S. of playing a “game” in the Middle East.
“This is just a game the U.S., Israel and Turkey are playing to influence the Islamic awakening,” said Iran’s Deputy Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Masoud Jazayeri, the senior-most official to respond to news that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had apologized to his Turkish counterpart over the 2010 flotilla incident, paving the way for full reconciliation and the normalization of diplomatic relations that had been severed after Israeli Navy commandos killed nine Turks aboard the Mavi Marmara.
Jazayeri said on Saturday that the U.S. sought to “find a replacement for the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Muslim world,” official Iranian Press TV reported Saturday.
Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and the Arab League received a full report on the Israeli-Turkish reconciliation.
The Arab League opposed to the agreement, which PA President Mahmoud Abbas welcomed. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has confirmed that he plans to visit the West Bank and Gaza Strip in April.
“We are entering a new period in both Turkey and the region,” said Erdoğan on Saturday. “We are at the beginning of a process of elevating Turkey to a position so that it will again have a say, initiative and power, as it did in the past.”
via Israel Hayom | Iran mostly speechless after Israel, Turkey agree to restore ties.
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