Turkey starts constructing wall along Iran border: Report
Turkey has started building a wall along its border with Iran in parallel with the Turkish barrier along the Syrian frontier, a Turkish media report says.
Turkey’s private Dogan news agency said on Tuesday that the governor of Agri province, Suleyman Elban, had visited the construction process of the security wall.
It added that Ankara is constructing the 2-meter wide, 3-meter high wall with portable blocks.
Turkey claims that the construction work is aimed at improving security by halting the infiltration of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants and illegal smugglers.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in June that his country plans to build walls along its borders with Iraq and Iran, similar to the one being erected along the 911-kilometer frontier with Syria.
His remarks came after a high-level Turkish official told Hürriyet daily on May 8 that Ankara plans to build a wall on its border with Iran to prevent the PKK militants from entering the country from a camp in Iran.
An informed source at the Iranian Foreign Ministry said a day later that Turkey must keep Iran updated on any construction of a wall along the two countries’ border.
The source added that Iran welcomes Turkey’s plan and does not oppose it; however, Ankara must notify Tehran before any move.
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Iran is also fighting a PKK offshoot in its northwestern border region with Turkey. Iranian forces killed five PJAK terrorists in an ambush there last June.
PJAK randomly carries out hit-and-run attacks on Iranian targets, after which they retreat to their lairs in Iraq and Turkey.
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