Dec 8, 2015

Iranian officials, from the Hassan Rouhani administration to the supreme leader’s advisers, have been attempting to contain the escalating crisis between Russia and Turkey. As those efforts seem to be unsuccessful, there are reports of a growing rift between Iran and Turkey resulting from reports that during a phone conversation Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Rouhani about the negative press he and his family have been receiving in Iran.

At a press conference Dec. 8, Mohammad-Bagher Nobakth, spokesman for the Rouhani administration, said reports about Erdogan “threatening” Iran are “incorrect and questionable.”

Nobakth said, however, that during the phone conversation between the two leaders, many issues were discussed, and “one of them was Erdogan’s concern about articles regarding him and his family in one of the Iranian media outlets.” Nobakht said Rouhani’s response was that “in Iran there is democracy and sometimes media publish such articles.”

Turkish media first reported that Erdogan had warned Rouhani about Iranian media coverage regarding accusations that Erdogan’s family was purchasing smuggled oil from the Islamic State. Erdogan said after the warning, “Fabrications from Iranian officials and news sites were eliminated.” Erdogan’s son Bilal, who owns shipping and maritime assets that control oil tankers, has denied Russian accusations that he is behind the smuggling of IS oil.

Nobakht reminded reporters that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has previously told other countries as well to “never threaten an Iranian,” alluding to Zarif’s now famous line during the nuclear negotiations with the world powers.