Turkey Defies US Sanctions on Iran; Are US-Turkey Relations at Stake?

Refusing to bring any bitterness in Turkey-Iran Relations, Turkey has blatantly refused to abide by the US sanctions on Iran. Turkey described the sanctions imposed by the US as inappropriate and said that it has conveyed to the US about its decision to not adhere to the illogical US sanctions on Iran.

The foreign minister of Turkey on Tuesday said that Turkish authorities have informed the delegation of the US Treasury and State Department about its decision to stand by Iran despite the flurry of sanctions threatened by the US.

As reported by the PressTV, the Turkish foreign minister said that Turkey buys oil from Iran in a legitimate manner. He said that Turkey will explain to the US why they are not adhering to the US sanctions and why these sanctions are highly inappropriate. He further added that Turkey’s officials are making sure that the reimposition of US sanctions on Iran does not affect Ankara in a negative manner.
The minister from Turkey reiterated that Iran is an important neighbour to Turkey and Turkey will always respect the good faith in Turkey-Iran relations. Turkey is largely dependent on Iran for its energy needs as the country imports most of its energy requirements from Iran.
After the US withdrew unilaterally from the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, it has been threatening Iran with the reimposition of old sanctions and also with a new series of sanctions. The US recently stated that it will bring down Iran’s oil sales to almost zero but Iran has also not stayed away from giving bold rebuts to the US unilateralism.
The US has asked all nations to stop importing oil from Iran by November but Iran has threatened to block all oil shipments from the Gulf if its oil sales are brought to nil. Since the withdrawal of the US from the Iran Nuclear Deal both Iran and the US have been making bold statements and have been warning each other of dire consequences against each other’s actions.