Turkish president to not cancel visit to Iran

Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 30 By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan doesn’t intend to cancel his visit to Iran. Turkish news channel TRT Haber quoted Erdogan on March 30 as saying that despite some government officials in Iran opposing his visit, their stance doesn’t reflect Tehran’s official position on the matter. The president said that, therefore, he is not going to cancel his visit to Iran. Earlier, Erdogan said Iran’s aspiration to dominate the region, including Yemen, is unacceptable. “Iran seeks to dominate the region. This is really unacceptable, and Iran must know this,” Erdogan said at a press conference in Istanbul, commenting on the beginning of military operations in Yemen. The president said the conflict in Yemen has acquired a “sectarian” nature, and called on Iran to stop supporting the Shiite Houthi rebels. Following this statement, a number of government officials of Iran opposed Erdogan’s planned visit to Tehran. Erdogan will visit Iran on April 7. Starting from March 26, several Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia, have been carrying out an international military operation in Yemen. The coalition continues its strikes on military targets and positions of the Shiite Houthi rebels, who in January seized government offices in Sana'a and forced the president and the government to resign. On March 28, the coalition for the first time dealt a blow to the country’s international airport in Sana'a. Edited by CN --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Follow us on Twitter @TRENDNewsAgency