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Iranian top diplomat meets Turkish counterpart in Ankara in show of solidarity

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in the capital Ankara, as Turkey’s relations with the West sour over the post-coup developments. The visit is the first between the two countries after the failed July 15 coup attempt in which more than 240 people died. It comes as Turkey has been enraged by what it sees as Western concern over a post-coup crackdown but indifference to the bloody coup itself, in which rogue soldiers bombed parliament and seized bridges with tanks and helicopters. Many of those killed were civilians. The tension has chilled relations with Washington and the European Union, bringing repeated Turkish warnings about an EU deal to stem the flow of migrants. Iran has said it fully supported the government of neighboring Turkey against the attempted military coup, despite Tehran and Ankara’s differences over Syria and other issues. Iran, a Shi’ite Muslim nation, is a main ally of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s civil war while Sunni-majority Turkey has been one of his fiercest critics and has supported his opponents.