TEHRAN: A Turkish delegation is visiting Iran to focus on border security issues like smuggling, terrorism, and border security. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and Iranian counterpart Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli will meet on Saturday in Tehran, Turkey’s Hurriyet News reported.
They will discuss cooperation on border security as well as the “fight against terrorism” and smuggling. Turkey’s Gendarmerie Forces Commander Gen. Aric Cetin and General Director of Security Salami Latino will also be present.
The meeting comes on the heels of a rash of violence in the two countries’ border region. Kurdish news agencies reported smugglers, known locally as kolbars, were recently fired upon in Iran’s Urmia Province. Also, Iran’s foreign ministry confirmed that an Iranian border guard was killed and four others wounded in Maku, near the border with Turkey.
Turkish sources blamed the attack on a Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) affiliate, PJAK, the Kurdistan Free Life Party which operates in Iran. Several armed Kurdish groups are active in the mountainous border region between Turkey, Iran, and the Kurdistan Region. Ankara and Tehran have recently promised increased security cooperation in the border region, and Turkey has said it plans to build a border wall.
