Intel: Why Turkey might want the US to think it’s working with Iran
Turkey’s interior minister announced today that Ankara and Tehran have launched joint operations against Kurdish rebels along Turkey’s eastern border. But Iran almost immediately denied the report, raising suspicion about Ankara’s motives in making the assertion.
Why it matters: Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said the joint operation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) began at 8 a.m. local time on March 18 and marked “a first in history.” Speaking at a campaign rally in the southern coastal town of Serik ahead of local elections on March 31, Soylu vowed to “announce the outcome” once the operation was over. So far the Turkish Defense Ministry has not confirmed any such operation.
