(Today's Zaman-Turkey) Turkish-Israeli relations began their present deterioration after Tehran registered complaints with Ankara that Israeli planes were using Turkish airspace to carry out intelligence and surveillance missions in the summer of 2008. Turkey and Israel's military cooperation agreements include allowing Israeli jets to use Turkish airspace for training. In June 2008, Iran conveyed its uneasiness over allegations that Israeli airplanes were using Turkish airspace to take aerial pictures of Iranian territory close to the Iranian-Turkish border, a senior official said. The same official said Israel used Eitam aircraft, which are equipped with sophisticated intelligence-gathering systems, during its activities near Iran. In September 2007, Israel used Turkey's airspace for a bombing run in neighboring Syria, leading to serious anger in Ankara.
2009-12-09 07:54:16Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive