Turkish opposition to send MPs to Iran for graft probe

With the government unwilling to probe Iranian links with alleged graft in Turkey, Turkey's opposition plans a trip to Tehran to investigate Turkey's two biggest opposition parties plan to send separate delegations to Iran to receive related documents over alleged relations between four former ministers of the Turkish Cabinet, Iranian-origin businessmen Reza Zarrab and billionaire Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani, after a parliamentary corruption panel failed to take action on the issue.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) will establish delegations made up of lawmakers and jurists who will visit Iran and demand documents about Zarrab from the Iranian Parliament.

Zarrab, who used to be involved in the oil-for-gold trade with Iran, is a suspect in the Dec. 17, 2013 mass corruption probe, on claims that he bribed a number of Turkish ministers and officials to facilitate his business. Turkish media also previously reported that Zarrab is linked to Zanjani, who is accused of being involved in corrupt relations with former Iranian government officials. Zanjani is in jail in Iran while Zarrab was released soon after the Turkish probe was launched.

The MHP's plans are still being debated within the party and a final decision will be given regarding the Tehran visit after inter-party discussions.

MHP Kahramanmaraş deputy Mesut Dedeoğlu, the only representative of the MHP in the Parliamentary Corruption Commission, which was launched to investigate the graft allegations against four former Cabinet members, said the commission "never discussed" their demands to conduct research in Iran over the allegations.

"We could not discuss Iran. We could not...