Iranian FM condemns Zakho artillery attack

"Amirabdollahian sympathized with the families of the victims as well as the Iraqi government and nation."

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2022/07/22 16:11

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Moscow in October 2021 (Photo: Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran Iran Zakho artillery attack Fuad Hussein Hossein Amirabdollahian Nasser Kanaani

ERBIL (Kurdistan) – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian condemned Wednesday's shelling of the tourist resort in the Kurdistan Region's Zakho in a phone call with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein on Thursday.

"Amirabdollahian sympathized with the families of the victims as well as the Iraqi government and nation," the Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a press release.

He also reaffirmed "Iran's unwavering support for Iraq's stability and security."

In a telephone conversation with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, Iranian Foreign Minister Amirabdollahian condemned the shelling of the city of #Zakho in #Dehouk Province in the north of Iraq’s #Kurdistan region.https://t.co/LDfOK8efkr pic.twitter.com/1LwslJoLAE
— Iran Foreign Ministry 🇮🇷 (@IRIMFA_EN) July 22, 2022

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hussein thanked Iran for its "sympathies and condolences."

Hussein, who personally visited the site of the attack on Wednesday, strongly "condemned the shelling of the region as a violation of Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity," read the press release.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani also condemned the Zakho attack on Thursday.

Iraq has blamed Turkey for the attack, which Turkey rejects as propaganda.

Iran has refrained from blaming Turkey, as have many other countries.

Moreover, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that Hussein "rejected the claim that terrorists are in the area, as a lie."

Amirabdollahian also discussed the decisions "adopted at the Astana summit and views of the presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey, especially those that stress the use of peaceful means to resolve problems at border areas" with his Iraqi counterpart.

Last Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Tehran with Russian President Vladimir Putin and senior Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi. They discussed Turkish plans to launch a new operation in northern Syria.

At the meeting, both Iran and Russia voiced objections to any new Turkish operation. For its part, Erdogan underlined that Turkey wants to go ahead with its plans to clear Tal Rifaat and Manbij of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).