Israel, US back Iran protests: Turkish foreign minister

ANKARA Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday said Israel and the U.S. are the only countries supporting ongoing protests in Iran. Cavusoglu’s remarks came in a meeting with media representatives in capital Ankara. He drew attention to two people openly supporting the unrest in Iran. “One of them is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the other is the U.S. President Donald Trump.” The foreign minister said Turkey was always against those kinds of external interventions and added that all countries except Israel and the U.S. were “cautious” in the face of protests in Iran. He termed the ongoing protests in Iran an “internal” matter of the neighboring country. “This situation is internal affairs of Iran. But, the stability [in Iran] is also important for its neighbors. "It is significant for all of us. “We wish for these conflicts in Iran to come to an end and stability to be recovered immediately.” Last Thursday, Iranians took to the streets in the northeastern cities of Mashhad and Kashmar to protest rising inflation and perceived government mismanagement, according to local media reports. These protests were followed on Saturday and Wednesday by large demonstrations in support of the government. End double standards Since the demonstrations began six days back, at least 23 people have been killed -- including a police officer -- while hundreds more have reportedly been detained. Cavusoglu said Iranian Foreign Minister Jawad Zarif told him that the situation in Iran was “not so bad”. He recalled Zarif as saying that Tehran was taking a careful stance against these protesters but “there are some groups with weapons, blades and Molotov bombs in their hands which caused killings of some civilians and security personnel.” Cavusoglu highlighted that Iran was not against any peaceful solution and a dialogue process. “They say Iran is not using the iron fist of the state.” He also said any change in Iran should come through elections. “So, if there were to be a change in government, Iranian people could make it happen in the next elections.” Cavusoglu criticized the double standards of certain countries regarding Iranian protests and cited the example of how some countries gave their full support to the military coup in Egypt. “There is praise for them [Egypt] in other countries, but there is criticism against Iran and regime there, as well as external intervention,” he said. “Our wish is that this process comes to an end immediately. We find Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s statements positive.” About the call of U.S. envoy to the UN Nikki Haley on Wednesday for a UN Security Council meeting on Iran protests, Cavusoglu said the U.S. brought this to the international arena because “they are strongly opposed to the Iranian administration." World opposes U.S Jerusalem move The foreign minister also highlighted Turkey’s leading role in denouncing the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate Washington’s embassy from Tel Aviv to the contested city. "Turkey has been the country to display the most vivid stance against the decision. The support of the Vatican, the Western countries as well as the entire world was gained with the efforts of our president,” Cavusoglu said. He said the U.S. administration threatened the entire world after UN General Assembly members recently voted overwhelmingly against the decision. "In fact, some countries, even great countries said 'We are resisting but the U.S. is pressuring too much and we do not know how long we can resist'," Cavusoglu added. Speaking about the Syrian conflict, the foreign minister said revitalizing of Astana, Sochi and Geneva processes is mandatory to achieve political solution. "I believe that we will reach an important phase in 2018," Cavusoglu said. He said Turkey began its discussions with the international community primarily with the EU states to rebuild Syria. The foreign minister also highlighted Turkey’s geopolitical significance for Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq and said: “Without Turkey, KRG is nothing… Turkey is a gate to the world for [KRG]. They can’t go out without Turkey’s permission.” “Turkey will extend all kinds of support for stability of Iraq,” Cavusoglu said, adding his country would also continue supporting Turkmen people in Iraq. Turkish foreign minister said Turkey would contribute to resolve Qatar crisis in 2018.