TURKEY & IRAN: ENERGY, ECONOMY & POLITICS IN THE FACE OF SANCTIONS

Source:Natural Gas World Date:24Dec2018

An in-depth study of Turkey-Iran relationship and its futre in light of US sanctions regime

While Turkey and Iran have long been geopolitical antagonists, the two countries have a history of prioritizing their bilateral economic relations. One of the main driving forces for cooperation between Turkey and Iran is trade in the energy sector; Turkey buys large amounts of oil and gas from Iran despite political, military, and diplomatic divergences. Particularly, in recent years, Iran’s strong economic links with Turkey have played a crucial role in reducing the economic pressure of Western sanctions. Against the backdrop of increasing tension in the Turkey-US relationship, Turkey and Iran’s geographic proximity and currency issues could mean that the two are able to forge a lucrative energy trade isolated from US sanctions.