From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 5, 2020
Turkish president Erdogan seeks calm amid US-Iran crisis
Turkey’s president calls for deescalation between Iran and the US following America’s killing of an Iranian general. He says the slaying of a top commander will likely not go unanswered, and voices concern about regional security risks.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s first public comments on the killing come in a televised interview. He says he was surprised because the strike occurred just hours after a phone call with US President Donald Trump.
Erdogan says he “especially had suggested to (Trump) that tensions with Iran should not be heightened” during that call.
Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani’s killing in a drone strike in Baghdad has escalated the crisis between Iran and the US. Tehran has since abandoned all limits of its 2015 nuclear deal, and Iraq’s parliament called for the expulsion of all American troops from Iraqi soil.
Turkey shares a border with Iran, Iraq and Syria.
— AP
