Erdogan: US, Israel meddling in Iran, Pakistan

Ankara, Jan 5 : Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday blasted the US and Israel for their “meddling” in the internal affairs of Iran and Pakistan.

Since protests broke out across Iran last week, US President Donald Trump has voiced his support for the demonstrators, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised them for taking to the streets to protest against the government, Xinhua news agency reported.

Trump also lashed out at Pakistan for “lying” and not rendering enough help to hunt down terrorists.

While addressing the press in Istanbul before leaving for France for a visit, the Turkish President said the same intervention was also seen in countries like Iraq, Syria, Libya, Tunisia, Sudan and Chad.

“Look, all these countries are Islamic countries and their peoples are all Muslims,” he said.

Erdogan also urged Washington to reconsider “its sense of justice” as a Turkish banker was convicted in a US court for helping Iran evade sanctions.

“If this is the US understanding of justice, then the world is doomed,” said the Turkish leader.

Mehmet Hakan Atilla, deputy Chief Executive Officer at Turkey’s Halkbank, was accused of several charges including bank fraud and conspiracy to violate US sanctions law, in a New York federal court on Wednesday.

Erdogan claimed that Washington had been operating a process that includes “a serious chain of plots” against Ankara.

“Not only in law but also in economy as well,” Erdogan said, warning that bilateral legal accords with the US were “losing validity”.

Turkey-US ties have been strained over an array of issues, including Washington’s military support to Syrian Kurdish militia, whom Ankara listed as terrorists, and its refusal to extradite Fethullah Gulen, a US-based Turkish cleric who allegedly masterminded the failed coup in Turkey in July 2016.

IANS