Turkey among 8 countries exempt from US sanctions on Iran

Turkey has been told it will receive a waiver on US sanctions against Iran, Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez told reporters on Friday.

It comes after the US announced on Friday it is reimposing all sanctions lifted under a 2015 nuclear pact with world powers struck with Iran.

France, Germany, UK and the EU have all condemned the move.

"I want to express my pleasure for this statement. We always stated that such sanctions could negatively impact peace, stability and economies in neighbouring countries like Turkey and we elaborated this reality during the talks with US officials," he said.

He added that they also stressed the importance of gas and oil trade with neighbouring countries for Turkey's supply security.

Turkey imports almost nearly half of its oil needs from neighbouring Iran. The country also imports oil via pipelines from Iraq and Azerbaijan. However, geographical proximity and stable transport routes facilitate oil trade between Ankara and Tehran.

"Now it is understood that what we said during these talks was accepted at some point. I think that this outcome will contribute to peace and stability in the region. The information we have now is showing that Turkey is included among these 8 countries but we received no further details yet. However, I can say that this decision is pleasing," Donmez said.

Announcement

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin made the announcement during a telephone call with reporters.

The new wave of sanction reimpositions, the second since August, will target Iran's energy, shipping and financial sectors.

Pompeo said eight nations, which other officials identified as US allies such as Italy, India, Japan and South Korea, will receive temporary waivers allowing them to continue to import Iranian petroleum products for a limited period as long as they end such imports entirely. 

He said those countries had made efforts to eliminate their imports but could not complete the task by Monday's deadline.

The European Union is not one of the recipients, according to Pompeo.

TRT World's Lionel Donovan reports. 

More 700 Iranian companies on the list

Mnuchin said 700 more Iranian companies and people would be added to the sanctions lists under the reimposed sanctions.

Iran hardliners in Congress and elsewhere probably will be disappointed in the sanctions because they were pushing for no oil import waivers as well as the complete disconnection of Iran from the main international financial messaging network known as SWIFT.

Mnuchin defended the move to allow some Iranian banks to remain connected to SWIFT, saying that the Belgium-based firm had been warned that it will face penalties if sanctioned institutions are permitted to use it.

Pompeo and Mnuchin both said the sanctions will have exceptions for humanitarian purchases.