Ankara has rebuffed Washington’s call to restrict transactions of
Iran’s Bank Mellat in Turkey, rejecting the unilateral US-EU sanctions
against the bank, a report says.
In response to Washington’s request, Ankara has argued that Bank Mellat
has not been listed among the Iranian banks subject to the United
Nations’ sanctions and that Turkey has no commitment towards other
unilateral sanctions imposed by the US and the EU, state-sponsored BBC
Persian TV network reported on Thursday.
Ankara also reiterated that Iran is a key natural gas provider to
Turkey and under the existing circumstances it is impossible for Ankara
to sever its economic ties with Tehran, the report said.
An undersecretary of the US Treasury Department who has recently
visited Turkey to discuss the enforcement of sanctions against Iran and
Libya, has argued that the monetary transactions through Bank Mellat in
Turkey can help the Islamic Republic to bypass the sanctions.
Following the adoption of the June 9 UN Security Council resolution
against Iran, the US and the European Union imposed additional
unilateral sanctions on the Islamic Republic over its civilian nuclear
program.
Tehran says the sanctions have further promoted the country’s trade and
made the economy even more resilient in face… >>>
