Turkish officials have told an American delegation that it has no intention of following unilateral US sanctions on Iran, a move likely to deepen a rift between the two NATO allies over the Islamic republic’s contentious nuclear program that Washington believes is aimed at developing nuclear weapons.
Turkish and American officials have confirmed that a US delegation comprising representatives from the State and Treasury departments visited Ankara last week to have talks at the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the Undersecretariat of the Treasury over US sanctions on Iran.
The talks came as Turkey said it would support Turkish companies making sales to Tehran despite unilateral US sanctions that restrict trade. “They were here to discuss and explain UN sanctions and also the new US sanctions package signed into legislation by President Obama on July 1,” a US Embassy official in Ankara told Reuters late on Friday. The official said Turkey was one of many countries the delegation was planning to visit.
Foreign Ministry officials said the delegation had offered details about the US sanctions but that Turkey’s response was negative, the Anatolia news agency reported. “We told them we don’t feel obliged to adhere to sanctions other than those imposed by the UN,” an official said.
Since June, the UN Security Council, the United States and the European Union have tightened sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, which Washington fears is a cover to build an atomic bomb. Tehran says its aims are purely peaceful.
Both the US and EU sanctions cover a broader range of activities than those enacted by the UN and are aimed at squeezing Iran’s energy and banking sectors, which could also hurt companies from other countries doing business with Tehran.
The US legislation will sanction companies for supplying Iran with refined petroleum products with a fair market value exceeding $1 million or that during a 12-month period have an aggregate fair market value of $5 million or more.
The Cumhuriyet daily, quoting an unnamed US official, said Washington had sent the delegation to warn Turkey it intended to target Turkish companies deemed to be trading with the Islamic republic in violation of US sanctions.
Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız told Reuters this month Ankara would back private firms making sales to Iran. Turkey stepped in to sell Iran the equivalent of 1.2 million barrels of gasoline in June when most other sellers refused to continue sales due to the looming sanctions.
But Turkey charged Iran a 25 percent premium above the market rate then sharply curtailed gasoline shipments by some 73 percent in July as the US sanctions came into force.
Turkish tolerance
The US Embassy official would not comment on the report that Washington had warned Turkey about sanctions, but said, “They are making these visits because it is very important for us to pass the word about this sanctions package.”
A delegation of Turkish officials, led by Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu, is expected to begin talks with US officials in Washington today on a number of issues, including Iran’s nuclear program.
The United States has so far largely looked the other way as its Muslim NATO ally has strengthened political and economic ties with Iran as part of Ankara’s long-term energy strategy.
Washington’s tolerant attitude may end if Turkey continues to take the bite out of US sanctions or boost ties with the Islamic republic beyond a symbolic partnership. Any international firms that sell gasoline to Iran could face retribution under the US sanctions, including a possible ban from the US financial system or denial of US contracts.
Cumhuriyet, an anti-government newspaper, said the Turkish Petroleum Refineries Corporation (TÜPRAŞ), Turkey’s sole refiner and gasoline exporter, was vulnerable to the sanctions. It said the state petroleum firm, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), was readying to sign important agreements with Iran, and that the United States could sever all commercial ties with these companies. TÜPRAŞ did not answer calls for comment.
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What do we all expect, the whole area is muslim, Turkey is progressively leaning away from secularism in government so we can expect this country to be more and more supportive of Iran and other terrorist Islamic countries, they should not be allowed into NATO or the EU, the cancer of Islam is spreading uncontested in Europe.
One cannot generalize Islam just as one cannot generalize Christianity by the case of that US pastor who wanted to burn the Koran, or that US preacher who called for the assassination of a democratically elected head of state (Chavez).
When the Soviet army invaded Afghanistan, the US responded by supporting Islamic extremists, who shortly after attaining “victory” turned against their (infidel) supporters.
That extremist version of Islam is Wahhabism, is exported from Saudi Arabia to all corners of the world. But without the support of the US it could never have become so powerful and destructive.
In many Islamic countries, the popular and nonviolent version of Islam is (related to) Sufism.
But for Wahhabi extremists, Sufis are as much infidels as atheists and believers of other religions are.
As the US supports the exporter of Wahhabism via the mechanism of the petro-dollar, war spreads and govts have to organize crackdowns on minority groups to preemptively keep order.
With Wahhabi infiltrators active all over the Middle East and Pakistan, Turkey is affected as well so the govt has to make a choice: either defend the present nonviolent version of Islam or risk popularity of extremists.
And in case it was forgotten, it was the puppet (shah) installed by the US in Iran after the CIA toppled a democratically elected head of state, who caused the present regime of mullahs.
So the only cancer is the US plutocracy that profits from war and its spoil, that also spreads financial cancers (economic bubbles), GMO products causing diseases and herbicides that result in so called superweeds.
The best example of that, glyphosate-resistant coca plants – a guarantee to keep the war on drugs going forever, with high profits that can be used in illegal operations like toppling democratically elected heads of state.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.11/columbia.html
I agree with Casey, it’s time rethink some serious strategy when it comes to Turkey. They have continued to be a thorn, and I see the topple of Turkey soon enough. Either play by the NATO rules or get toppled!
It’s time we rethink Turkey’s membership in NATO. Turkey’s political leadership is leading this onetime ally into the arms of radical Islamic terrorist states.
US is down right now – if it changes its policies there is a chance it will bounce back – so it is good for Turkey to have fair relations with US.
Europe except Germany – no country counts – UK is has been, it had no respect in the world. people around the world think it is a gutter, garbage or trash country which is still trying to live today by focusing what it was 100 years ago. Other European countries are too small to make a difference for Turkey or any other nation.
Emerging Giants China, Brazil, India, Mexico are the one’s a country should be closely allied with which Turkey is. So Turkey is fine – and can say No to US.
It dosen’t even have to listen to UK or any other european nation except maybe Germany.
All the more reason to reject Turkey’s entry into the EU.
They will not be missed.
The US is technically bankrupt already so the better alternative for Turkey would be to switch trade to China, Iran and Russia. The EU, satellite of the US, only has to lose as regarding resources Iran has a lot to offer whereas the US can only peddle toxic GM stuff, financial trash and downgrade the debt of countries like Greece and Ireland to hide its own, unrecoverable economic depression.
It is not really surprising to see that NATO boycotts and wars are a debacle and the US only managed to succeed with the invasion of Grenada.
Apart from that, boycotts rarely work, the best example is how Israel helped the Apartheid regime in South Africa to obtain nuclear arms thanks a so called “boycott” – it only increased the profit for the little rogue state.