Turkey made strategic mistake by agreeing to host NATO shield

Major General Yahya Safavi says Ankara has made three strategic mistakes including a decision to host the NATO missile shield on the Turkish soil.
Safavi, the former commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, says Turkey is moving on a wrong track perhaps laid out by the United States.

The deployment could have a clear message for both Iran and Russia but more for Iran, Safavi told the Mehr News Agency in an exclusive interview.

The other mistake was a pronouncement by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which during his visit to Egypt he suggested a model of government based on secular system, stated Safavi.

Safavi, who currently serves as a senior military advisor to the Supreme Leader, said Egyptians had not expected such remarks from a Turkish official because Egyptian people are Muslim.

Under a pressure from the U.S., the Zionist regime, and Saudi Arabia, Turkey made another strategic blunder by trying to stir up protests in Syria and this is contrary to what Turkish officials are saying, he added.

This is an indication of hypocrisy among Turkish authorities, the general argued.

In fact, Ankara wants to convey a message to regional countries, where massive uprisings have been taking place, that their revolutions are similar to Turkey’s not to those occurred in other countries like Iran, Safavi noted.

Safavi said Turkey’s secular system is not “a good model”.

He went on to say that such policies by Ankara are incompatible with the ideals of the Muslim people of Turkey.

On the future relationship between Tehran and Ankara, he said if Turkish political leaders do not adopt a transparent foreign policy toward Iran, they will encounter problems in the future.