Turkey calls on U.S. and Iran to avoid steps to escalate tension

Turkey called on all parties to act in common sense, avoiding steps to escalate tension, Turkish presidential spokesman said on Friday over the recent U.S.-Iran row.

Ibrahim Kalın's remarks came in a statement following a U.S airstrike that killed Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps' Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a senior commander of Iraq's Hashd al-Shaabi or Popular Mobilization Units.

The U.S. said it killed Soleimani because he "was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region".

Kalın said the recent mistakes, sectarian attitudes and foreign interventions in the region were threatening the global peace and stability.

He noted that Turkey was particularly concerned that its neighbor, Iraq, would become a zone of tension, instability and power struggles.

The U.S. airstrike on Soleimani would trigger new tensions and conflicts in the region, he said.

"Turkey once again calls on all parties to act in common sense and avoid steps to further raise tension," Kalın stressed and added that Turkey would continue to make full use of diplomacy to guarantee regional and global peace.