Leaked surveillance footage of Iranian operatives appeared on Turkish televisions on Monday night, sparking outrage in Turkey over covert Iranian activities targeting its neighbor and putting further pressure on already strained ties between Turkey and Iran amid a deepening rift over how to respond to the unfolding Syrian conflict.
The video footage was part of the evidence collected by an intelligence branch of the Turkish police specializing in counterespionage, and is now part of the nationwide investigation by the prosecutor's office of the eastern province of Erzurum.
In one part of the footage, an unidentified Iranian agent is seen talking to two female terrorists from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), collecting information on the organization's capabilities. The agent is recorded asking a series of questions regarding what resources the PKK has available to attack Turkish interests.
Other footage clearly shows a Turkish village guard, apparently on the payroll of Iranian intelligence, giving out the coordinates of military outposts, as well as a detailed itinerary of military assets available at military bases of Turkey's eastern provinces.
