Turkey asks Iran for assistance to release kidnapped pilots

Turkey has requested Iran’s assistance to release the Turkish pilots kidnapped in Lebanon last week, according a Lebanese media report.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Araghchi said Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had contacted his Iranian counterpart, Ali Akbar Salehi, to make the request to find the pilots.

Araghchi also condemned the kidnapping and said Iran would not refrain from helping Turkey if it could, citing the release of 48 Iranians who were kidnapped in Syria in 2012.