Turkey To Be Among Eight Countries Exempt from US Oil Sanctions on Iran

Turkey may become one of the eight countries, along with China, India, Japan and South Korea, that obtain waivers on Iranian oil imports from the United States (U.S.), according to a Bloomberg article published on Friday.

Attributing the report to a senior administration official, Bloomberg stated that the U.S. government agreed to exempt a total of eight countries from the oil-related sanctions, which will be reimposed on Iran as of November 5.

Turkey, a country primarily depending on Iranian oil, is highly likely to be in the exemption list. Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez also mentioned the possibility as he spoke to the local media on Friday.

The waivers in question will be granted “in exchange for continued import cuts so as not to drive up oil prices,” according to the report.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to announce the exemptions in question. Despite the fact that Pompeo previously threatened the international community with sanctions in case they kept purchasing crude oil from Iran, he had admitted that exemptions were being negotiated with certain countries.

While China is named among the exempted countries, the country is claimed to be holding talks with the U.S. regarding the details.

Turkey’s ties to Iran first came to public attention with the New York trial of Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-Turkish billionaire, who was accused of helping Iran evade economic sanctions through a major state-owned bank in Turkey, bank fraud and money-laundering.

Zarrab, who originally faced up to 70 years in prison, pleaded guilty to the crimes attributed to him and later gained “witness status” in the U.S. trial.

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