Iran Advisory Center in Syria Says Turkey Would Better ’Behave Wisely’

By Staff, Agencies

An Iranian military advisory center in Syria urged Turkey against further escalation of its aggression against the Arab country, reminding Ankara that it has so far refrained from responding to Turkish attacks.

In a statement published by most Iranian news agencies Sunday, the center advised “the Turkish forces to behave wisely, taking the Syrian and Turkish nations’ interests into consideration.”

“We assert to the Turkish nation that their sons have been within our range for a month now, and we could have taken revenge, but refrained from doing so on the orders of our commanders,” it added.

The statement also asked Turkish people to pressure their officials into committing to the standing de-escalation agreements on Syria and thus prevent wider bloodshed.

Ankara has begun directly intervening against Syrian forces as part of a bid to help terrorist groups that are halting Damascus' advances in Idlib.

Syria's ongoing offensive in Idlib was launched in August 2019 to oust terrorists from their last major bastion in the Arab country after repeated attacks on Syrian and Russian positions.

Under a deal reached between Turkey and Russia in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in September 2018, Turkish troops were deployed in Idlib and set up observation posts there.

The agreement required Ankara to oust Takfiri terrorists from the northwestern Syrian province. However, more than a year into the Sochi deal, foreign-backed terrorists rule supreme in Idlib in close proximity to the Turkish troops.

Turkey is evidently upset by changing conditions on the ground in the wake of the Syrian army advances. It has deployed massive troops and military equipment in recent weeks to stop Syrian troops from ousting terrorists.

Iran began lending military advisory support to Syria at Damascus’ request after the Arab nation found itself in the grip of terrorism fueled by foreign countries, including Turkey, in 2011.

The advisory center recounted how Turkish warplanes had started targeting its members and facilities with volleys of fire and precision missiles after it began assisting the Syrian military.

Early Saturday, the center said, it issued a directive that would prevent the targeting of Turkish positions in Idlib. The Turkish military, nevertheless, kept up its artillery fire against the center’s facilities.