Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country plans to build walls along its borders with Iraq and Iran, similar to the one currently being erected along the frontier with Syria.
Erdogan said on June 1 that Turkey has so far completed the construction of a 650-kilometer (403-mile) stretch of the wall along the 911-kilometer border with Syria. Turkey began building the wall in 2014 to boost its security by preventing infiltrations of Kurdish militants and Islamic State group fighters as well as refugees from Syria.
Erdogan said Turkey aims to build along its entire border with Syria. He added: "We'll do the same along the Iraqi border and in appropriate places along the Iranian border."
On May 27, two Iranian border guards were killed on the Turkish border in an skirmish with unknown armed elements. At the time, the commander of Iranian border forces put the blame on Turkey and vowed to respond decisively to "terrorist activities".
Iran shares a 550 kilometer border with Turkey.
