Turkey Plans to Build Border Wall with Iran

An Iranian Foreign Ministry official said Iran has been notified of a Turkish plan to put up a wall along parts of the Turkish-Iranian border. The official, who declined to be named, made the statement in a talk with ISNA.

Hurriyet reported on Monday that Turkey is planning to build a border wall as part of measures against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group. The report cited an unnamed official as saying the country is going to build a 70-kilometer wall along the border near eastern Agri Province and Igdir Province, and will also close the rest of border with lights, towers and iron fences, the highlevel Turkish official said.

The official claimed PKK has several camps inside Iranian territory near the Turkish border with 800 to 1,000 militants, who occasionally enter Turkey and carry out attacks. Turkey is also building a 900-kilometer wall along the Syrian border to prevent refugees and militants from entering the country. The first 556-km phase was completed last month.