Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç criticized Iran on Sunday after Tehran denied that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had a phone call with the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in which Erdoğan expressed his concern about false allegations being spread in Iranian media outlets about him and his family.

President Erdoğan said on Thursday at the 22nd general assembly of the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TÜRK-İŞ) that he called Rouhani to express his dissatisfaction over the allegations about him and his family being made in the Iranian media. "Spreading rumors about my family is unacceptable, and Iranian TV channels have done this too many times before," he said.

Tehran, however, later on denied President Erdoğan's claims.

Upon Tehran's denial, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bilgiç asserted that Erdoğan's phone call was recorded and also known to Iranian officials. Expressing his "astonishment at some of the remarks made by Iranian news agencies and authorities about President Erdoğan," Bilgiç added, "Disregarding the phone call or attempting to twist its context is not only immoral, but also means hiding the truth from the Iranian people."