UPDATE - Turkey calls for avoiding external intervention in Iran

UPDATES WITH PHONE TALK OF TURKISH AND IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS

By Zuhal Demirci

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said violence and provocation along with external interventions should be avoided during ongoing protests in Iran.

“Turkey is concerned about reports that demonstrations that started on Dec. 28 in Iran have spread, there are deaths and that public buildings have been damaged,” the ministry said in a statement.

It said Iran is a friend and brotherly country to Turkey, which attributes great importance for the preservation of social peace and stability.

“In this context, we believe the statement of President [Hassan] Rouhani [of Iran] that people have a right to peaceful protest but the law should not be violated and that public property should not be harmed should be taken into account, and violence and provocation should be avoided.

“We wish for peace in the country to be ensured, as soon as possible, and that common sense would prevail to prevent the escalation of the incidents, and that provocative rhetoric and external interventions would be avoided.”

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif held a telephone conversation on Tuesday, according to a diplomatic source.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restriction on speaking to the media, did not specify any details.

Thousands of Iranians hit the streets Thursday in the northeastern cities of Mashhad and Kashmar to protest rising commodity prices and perceived government mismanagement, according to local media reports.

Thursday's protests were followed by pro-government protests Saturday.

At least 16 people, including a police officer, have been killed in the protests across the country.

In addition, around 400 people have been detained, including some 200 in the capital Tehran. The other arrests were reported in the cities of Arak, Isfahan and Robat Karim and West Azerbaijan province.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday warned Iranians against the ongoing anti-government protests.