Iranian president’s envoy met with Turkish FM

ANKARA

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani sent an envoy to Turkey for talks amid the U.S. putting pressure on Ankara for sanctions against Tehran.

Rouhani’s special envoy Mahmoud Vaizi met with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Aug. 9. “We discussed the issues on the common agenda of #Turkey-#Iran with Mahmoud Vaezi, Head of the Office of the Iranian President,” Çavuşoğlu tweeted on his official account.

The visit comes at a time when the United States is putting pressure on Ankara for the next round of American sanctions on Tehran.

The first wave of Iranian sanctions went into effect on Aug. 7 and targets mainly financial transactions and commercial airline sales with Iran. In November, measures to stop the sale of Iranian energy are set to go into effect.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has repeatedly ruled out complying with U.S. measures, insisting Turkey is bound only by international agreements.

Energy Minister Fatih Dönmez said Turkey would continue to buy gas in line with its long-term supply deal with Tehran, and added that planned talks in Washington could produce a solution for the issue.

Turkey is dependent on imports for almost all of its energy needs and Iran is a key supplier of Ankara’s natural gas and oil purchases.

Dönmez said the U.S. sanctions on Iran were unilateral. “We adopted the United Nations sanctions on Iran in the past. Even the European Union is extremely annoyed by today’s situation. We are conducting legitimate trade here, which is of great importance in terms of supply security,” he said.

A Turkish delegation from the Treasury had meetings with U.S. counterparts in Washington on Aug. 8.