ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Iran later this month, following statements by the Iranian foreign minister opposing a planned Turkish military operation in northern Syria.
"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be visiting Iran on July 19," Turkish state media cited the presidency as saying.
The visit follows contradicting remarks by Iran regarding Erdogan's planned operation in northern Syria aiming to expel Kurdish fighters of the US-backed People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara considers to be the Syrian offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group fighting for Kurdish rights in Turkey through armed warfare and designated a terrorist organization by Ankara.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned on Sunday that any Turkish military intervention in Syria would destabilize the region, and reiterated his country's opposition to "any kind of military operation in northern Syria" during a visit to Damascus.
Abdollahian instead said that Tehran will attempt to mediate to resolve "misunderstandings" between Damascus and Ankara.
However, in a previous joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, the top Iranian diplomat said Tehran "understands" Turkey's need for a military operation along its southern border.
"We understand that ... maybe a special military operation might be needed in Syria," he said.
Damascus heavily opposes any military intervention inside its borders, with President Bashar al-Assad claiming on Saturday that "Turkish claims to justify its aggression on Syrian territory are false and have nothing to do with reality."
The looming Turkish offensive is directed at the areas of Manbij and Tal Rifaat in Syria's north – areas where Turkey believes the presence of YPG fighters threatens its national security.
Moreover, a large convoy of Syrian government military reinforcements arrived to the Manbij frontlines on Monday, comprising of "tanks, heavy weapons, and nearly 500 soldiers," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor reported Sunday.
Iran, along with Russia, are the Syrian government's biggest allies and have constantly provided Assad with military power as his regime continues to fight off rebels in the war-torn country.
