Iran supports Turkey's legitimate government amid coup attempt: SNSC

Iran Press TV

Sat Jul 16, 2016 1:28PM

Iran denounces an attempted military coup in Turkey and will fully support the legitimate Turkish government and will of the country's people, the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) says.

The SNSC convened a meeting, chaired by Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, on Saturday and discussed the latest developments in Turkey, where people and government forces were fighting to repel the remnants of a coup attempt launched on Friday night.

"We support Turkey's legal government and oppose any type of coup - either [initiated] domestically or supported by foreign sides," the SNSC Secretary Ali Shamkhani said on Saturday at the end of the council's meeting.

He added that Iran condemns any military move to forcefully impose one's political will and supports the resolve and demands of the Turkish people.

Shamkhani added that staging any type of coup runs counter to real demands of people and said, "What has determined the fate of Turkey's developments were the will and presence of the nation and vigilance of political parties who's contribution thwarted this coup."

The coup attempt, launched late on Friday, plunged Turkey into hours of chaos unseen in decades during which soldiers and tanks took to the streets and multiple explosions rang out throughout the night in Ankara and Istanbul.

The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim appeared on television soon after the coup was launched, declaring an early end to the putsch.

However, gunfire, bomb explosions and military airstrikes continued in the capital, Ankara, despite repeated statements by government officials that the coup had been "repelled."

Gradually, though, government forces seemed to be regaining control and pockets of rebel soldiers started surrendering.

"The situation is completely under control," Yildirim said outside his offices in Ankara.

He described the attempted coup as a "black stain" on Turkey's democracy and said 161 people had been killed in the night of violence and 1,440 wounded.

The Turkish premier added that 2,839 soldiers were now detained on suspicion of involvement in the putsch and added that the 161 toll did not include the assailants.