Erdogan and Iranian Soleimani had secret ties

AliRagab

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described Qasem Soleimani, the head Iran’s elite Quds military force who was killed by a US drone attack, as “a martyr”. Erdogan’s comment was the most controversial worldwide.

The Iranian Embassy in Turkey said that Erdogan, in a phone call with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, described Soleimani as a “martyr”.

US President Donald Trump said he was surprised to hear that Erdogan called Soleimani a “martyr”.

Iran’s attempts to have an influence on Turkey have escalated since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 in Iran. Documents show that Iran’s Quds Force were active in Turkey between 1999 and 2000.

The documents revealed that large quantities of explosives and arms used by the Quds Force were seized by the Turkish authorities. However, the Justice and Development Party froze the investigations.

The German magazine Der Spiegel released a document revealing ties between the government-led Justice and Development Party with Iran.

Meanwhile, the US-based website, The Intercept, unveiled that Soleimani had an old relationship with Ahmet Davutoglu and always compares his role in Iranian foreign policy to that of someone like Davutoglu in Turkish politics.

Soleimani, who created a wide network of secret and close relations in almost all the countries in the Middle East, especially Libya, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, had ambiguous ties with Turkey. His relations with the Turkish regime are still undisclosed.