Saudi Arabia condemns and denounces Turkish and Iranian assaults in northern Iraq, the kingdom’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, according to the Al Arabiya English service.
“We express our condemnation and denunciation of the aggression attacks on Iraqi [soil] by Turkey and Iran. We consider this act of aggression an unacceptable interference in the affairs of an Arab state, a blatant violation of its lands, a threat to Arab and regional security, and a clear violation of international principles and norms. We affirm our stand with our brothers in Iraq and support all measures to preserve its sovereignty, security and stability,” the ministry said on its official Twitter page.
Turkish forces struck more than 500 Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets with F-16 jets, drones, and howitzers as part of Operation Claw-Tiger in the Haftanin region, the Turkish defense ministry said on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Iranian forces carried out artillery attacks against Iranian Kurdish opposition groups in Iraqi Kurdistan for the second day in a row on Wednesday, according to the semi-official YJC news agency.
Riyadh and Ankara have been at odds in regional politics since the latter decided to back Qatar instead of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in a crisis dividing the Gulf countries.
The kingdom earlier this week also condemned Turkey’s military presence in Libya, according to Reuters.