Tehran denies joint raid with Turkey against Kurdish rebels on border

Iran has denied a claim by Ankara that it took part in a joint operation on Monday, targeting Kurdish rebels in the border area, AFP said. In recent weeks, Ankara has talked up the prospects of joint military action with Tehran against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its allies. Monday marked the first time it had spoken of a joint operation being carried out. “Iran’s armed forces have no role in this operation,” IRNA quoted an “informed source” in the general staff as saying. However, Iran “will forcefully confront any group that seeks to create unrest on our country’s soil,” the source added. Earlier on Monday, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said: “We started staging a joint operation with Iran against the PKK on our eastern border.”