Report: Iran plays down threat against Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Iranian foreign minister is playing down an earlier threat made against Turkey by an Iranian general.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency on Wednesday that Iranian general's threat last month that Tehran would target NATO's early warning radar in Turkey if the U.S. or Israel attacks the Islamic Republic do not reflect the official Iranian position.

Ankara agreed to host the radar in September as part of NATO's missile defense system, which is capable of countering ballistic missile threats from its neighbor, Iran which is suspected of trying to produce nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.