Ankara vows to help resist US sanctions on Iran
Turkey has reacted to the promised US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal with outrage, though some analysts believe the US withdrawal offers Turkey opportunities.
As reactions to the United States’ decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal continue to reverberate globally, NATO member Turkey has made its displeasure clear. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani that Washington’s move was “wrong.” In a telephone conversation held Thursday, the two leaders reportedly discussed the potential effects of the deal and Erdogan said he favored the preservation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that was signed in 2015 between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany. According to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency, the pair also focused on improving bilateral economic ties.
Airing Ankara’s worries, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin declared, “The unilateral US decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement will lead to new conflicts and instability.” He added, “We do not wish the Iranian people to be negatively affected by these sanctions and we won’t hesitate to do our part if we’re to do something about them.”
