An exchange of jabs between Washington and Iran’s trade partners over the critically soured US-Iran relations seems to show no signs of stopping, with even more participants getting involved. One of the Islamic Republic’s long-standing oil importers has had its say.
According to Ankara, Turkey does not have to act in compliance with “unilateral” US decisions on Iran, thereby suggesting that the country would not halt trade with its close neighbor and major oil supplier.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu’s statement came on Friday after the White House threatened to slap penalties on Iran’s trade partners if they don’t cut off Iranian oil imports by November 4.
“The fact that we are allies does not mean that we have to abide by all its decisions or all that it says word by word,” Mevlut Cavusoglu stated, going on to say that the US would be better off consulting with Turkey on regional issues.
Tensions between Iran, its trade partners and the United States have drastically spiked since May 8, when US President Donald Trump announced the US’ pullout from the P5+1 Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA, clinched back in 2015, and threatened the Islamic Republic with fresh rounds of sanctions. He also announced that the US would impose restrictions on foreign companies which would carry on doing business with Iran.
Commenting on Trump’s announcement, the leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom expressed their disapproval at Trump’s decision in a joint statement, putting strong emphasis on their countries’ commitment to the JCPOA. Turkey also slammed the move, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stating that in the wake of the withdrawal, “the US will be the loser.”
Source: Sputnik
