Iranian Deputy Fm Confirms Erdogan's Tehran Visit

There has been no change in the Turkish president's planned visit to Tehran, a high Iranian official has said in a dismissal of allegations of a possible cancellation which arose after Erdogan's openly criticized Tehran.



The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister in Consular Affairs Hassan Qashqawi told journalists that he understood there was no change to the schedule for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Iranian Foreign Ministry's official website reported Sunday.



Erdogan said earlier this week that Turkey announced support for the Saudi-led military operations against Houthi rebels in Yemen.



In an interview with French network FRANCE 24 on Thursday, Erdogan said that Ankara may consider providing "logistical support" to the mission while accusing Iran of trying to "increase its influence" in the region.



On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said: "Those who caused irreparable damage with their strategic blunders and ambitious policies had better adopt responsible policies aimed at using the existing capacities for establishing peace and convergence in the region."



'Significant' visit



Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin had also earlier ruled out any change to Erdogan's plans to visit Iran in the first week of April amid the Saudi-led military offensive in Yemen.



Kalin said: "On the contrary, these developments have raised the significance of [Erdogan's] Iran visit."



Several Arab states have joined the Saudi-led offensive which kicked off late Wednesday with a string of airstrikes against Houthi positions in Yemen, including some in capital Sanaa.



Fractious Yemen has been in turmoil since last September, when the Houthis overran Sanaa, from where they have sought to extend their influence to other parts of the country.



Some Gulf countries accuse Shiite Iran of supporting the Houthi insurgency.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Ankara