Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says his country is resolved to expand ties with Iran despite US threats to punish governments that violate recently-restored economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
“Time and again we have made it clear that we will not implement US sanctions against Iran,” Cavusoglu said as he met with President Hassan Rouhani’s special envoy, Mahmoud Vaezi, in Ankara on Thursday.
Prior to the meeting, Vaezi had a brief session with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and delivered a written message from Rouhani, Mehr News Agency reported.
Cavusoglu said “We do not consider sanctions and pressures on Iran as appropriate and acceptable and publicly declare this everywhere in bilateral meetings, and explain how such actions threaten peace in the region.”
The Turkish minister expressed his appreciation for "Iran's moderate and wise stances on various issues, including the issue of US exit from the JCPOA," adding that Iran’s continued cooperation with the European Union deserves appreciation.
"We have explicitly announced that we will not abide by the recent unilateral US sanctions against Iran."
$30 Billion Trade
Vaezi, for his part, said he was delighted with the two countries' leaders move in outlining a roadmap to reach the $30 billion trade target and said the two sides are expanding bilateral relations in key areas.
US President Donald Trump decided in May to abandon the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a landmark nuclear deal signed in 2015 between Iran and six world powers–the US, the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany.
On Monday he ordered all nuclear-related sanctions that were removed under the deal to be reinstated immediately.
The first phase of the unilateral sanctions came into effect on Tuesday, targeting Iran's purchase of US dollars, trade in gold and other precious metals as well as its automotive sector. A second batch of bans will be reimposed in November with the aim of curtailing Iran’s oil exports and shipping sectors.
The US president has also threatened punitive measures against the remaining signatories in case they maintain business links with Iran.
Energy Imports
Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said Wednesday that Ankara would continue to buy gas from Iran under a long-term supply deal between the two neighbors. The minister said he was going to raise the issue of “unilateral” sanctions and their effect on Turkey’s energy imports with American officials in upcoming talks in Washington.
“We adopted the United Nations sanctions on Iran in the past. Even the European Union is extremely annoyed by today’s situation. We are conducting legitimate trade here, which is of great importance in terms of supply security,” he said.
Turkey imports almost all of its energy needs and Iran is one of the biggest suppliers of natural gas and oil to the neighboring country.
