Iran, Turkey 'must work together' to fight IS

  • 07/08/2015
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani (Reuters)
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani (Reuters)

Iran and Turkey must work with one another to root out the threat of extremism in the region, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani told his Turkish counterpart, the official IRNA news agency reports.

The two countries "should achieve a joint plan and a practical solution, with each other's help, for uprooting terrorism in the region," Rouhani told Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a Wednesday night (local time) telephone call.

"A consolidation and expansion of ties between Tehran and Ankara is of paramount importance to us," he said.

Nearly a year after a US-led coalition started air strikes against the Islamic State group, Ankara has launched a two-pronged offensive against the jihadists in Syria and Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants based in northern Iraq.

Turkey's strikes began two weeks ago after a series of attacks inside its territory including a devastating suicide bombing blamed on IS.

In his phone call, Rouhani also suggested Turkey should "co-ordinate" attacks with both Syrian and Iraqi governments.

"Any operation against terrorism necessitates the co-ordination with the countries' central governments," he said.

Erdogan for his part called for more collaboration in the fight against IS.

AFP