A U.S. judge delayed a high-profile and diplomatically sensitive trial of Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab who faces charges of evading U.S.-imposed sanctions on Iran for at least one week.
Mr. Zarrab, who stands trial in a Manhattan court did not appear before the court on Monday. The U.S. media last week reported that Mr. Zarrab might have been cooperating with U.S. prosecutors. He has not appeared at any court hearing since September.
Another defendant in the Iran sanctions case, Mehmet Hakan Atilla, a senior executive at Turkey’s state-run Halkbank, was present with his lawyers.
The trial has broad ripple effects for diplomatic relations with Turkey, which sees the Zarrab case as a plot against the country. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan personally urged former Vice President Joe Biden last year to secure his release.
The selection of jury was delayed to next week.
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