Turkey, Angry at U.S., Pledges Support for Iran

As the Obama administration scrambles to contain the diplomatic fallout with Turkey over the "Armenian genocide resolution in the U.S. Congress, Turkey's tilt towards Iran continues largely unnoticed.

Turkey's "formerly Islamist president, Abdullah Gul, in a weekend telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart called for a deepening of bilateral relations and voiced support for Iran in international forums. Turkey is non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, the most important international body to have Iran on its current agenda.

The encounter was virtually ignored by media outside of Turkey and Iran.

Iran's Fars news agency said Gul told President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "that the two countries would defend each other's positions at international forums, and emphasized the importance of tightening the relations between them and of consulting on regional and security matters.

Ahmadinejad praised Ankara's policies and "strong and progressive bilateral ties. He said that "regional and global developments are changing in favor of Iran and Turkey, Turkey's Dunya Gazetesi newspaper reported.