Turkey summons Iranian ambassador over media linking Saudi executions with Erdoğan's visit

Turkey summoned Iran's ambassador on Thursday to demand a halt to Iranian media reports linking the execution of a Shi'ite cleric by Saudi Arabia with last week's visit to Riyadh by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Official sources said that the ministry summoned the ambassador to express Turkey's deep concerns regarding the baseless claims and speculative news swirling in the Iranian media against President Erdoğan.

"We strongly condemn the linking of our president's recent visit to Saudi Arabia to the executions carried out in the country via published stories in media outlets that are linked to official Iranian bodies," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Foreign Ministry officials also said that they stressed to the ambassador that it is the responsibility of the host country to ensure the security of diplomatic missions, noting that as a result of the attacks on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, the consulate general in Mashad "could not be accepted."

Last week, Erdoğan paid a two-day official visit to Saudi Arabia where he met with King Salman bin Abdul Aziz in talks that focused on the Syrian crisis and energy cooperation between the two countries.

President Erdoğan recently stated that Saudi Arabia's decision to execute 47 people convicted of terrorism is a matter of internal affairs and warned against exploiting those executions for sectarian reasons. Amid the escalating tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran over the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric, 56-year-old Nimr al-Nimr, President Erdoğan voiced his opinion on the issue.

"The decision made in Saudi Arabia is an internal judicial matter, in my opinion. This decision had already been made, and Saudi Arabia took this step based on that decision. Whether I approve of it or not is a different matter," Erdoğan said, adding that the world kept silent when thousands of other people were executed. Erdoğan stressed that there were 47 executions carried out by Saudi Arabia, 43 of who were Sunnis. Underscoring that 400,000 have been killed in Syria, Erdoğan levied criticism at those who turned a blind eye to the mayhem to further their sectarian or national objectives.

"The same people who keep silent during mass killings are now trying to stir up the world over the execution of one person. While 400,000 people have been killed, you try to prove that all kinds of aid are being sent there. To whom is it being sent? To the murderer Assad. You can never justify yourselves," Erdoğan said.

Erdoğan previously slammed Iran as well, accusing it of engaging in sectarian policies. He said if Iran had not sided with Assad in obedience to its sectarian-driven policies, war-torn Syria might not be in its current situation where thousands of Iranian troops and several Shiite militia groups from Lebanon and Iraq are fighting alongside the regime.