Turkish Forum

Tag: Sanctions against Iran

  • India Said to Be Told Turkey May Stop Routing Iran Oil Payments

    India Said to Be Told Turkey May Stop Routing Iran Oil Payments

    India Said to Be Told Turkey May Stop Routing Iran Oil Payments

    January 09, 2012, 8:08 PM EST

    By Pratish Narayanan and Anto Antony

    Jan. 10 (Bloomberg) — Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS has told Indian oil refiners it may no longer be able to act as an intermediary for their purchases of Iranian crude, four people with knowledge of the matter said.

    Executives from the crude-processing companies met with Indian oil ministry officials yesterday to discuss alternatives, including routing remittances through Russia, the people said, declining to be identified because the information is confidential. Other options that were considered included stopping purchases from Iran altogether and importing from other countries, they said. Indian officials are scheduled to visit Tehran for trade talks Jan. 16-21, two of the people said.

    Indian buyers such as Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. and Hindustan Petroleum Corp. have faced difficulties finding lenders willing to handle payments to Iran because of sanctions against banks in the Gulf state. Saudi Arabia will increase crude exports to some Indian refiners this year as they seek to diversify supplies, four people with knowledge of the plans said Nov. 15. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh discussed alternative financial conduits with Russian officials during his visit to Moscow in December.

    The European Union will discuss imposing harsher sanctions on Iran, including a ban on crude imports, in response to the country’s nuclear program when the bloc’s foreign ministers meet on Jan. 30. Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said Dec. 27 that his nation would block fuel shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a transit point for a fifth of the world’s oil, if penalties are imposed, according to a report by the Islamic Republic News Agency.

    Russia’s Gazprombank

    India, which got 11 percent of its crude imports from Iran last year, is exploring the option of making payments for Iranian crude through Russia’s Gazprombank OJSC, though no deal has been reached, three of the people said yesterday. OAO Gazprom, the world’s biggest natural gas producer, owns about 42 percent of Gazprombank, according to the lender’s website.

    Andrei Serov, a Moscow-based spokesman at Gazprombank, wasn’t available for a comment at his office because of a holiday in Russia.

    Bharat Petroleum Corp., or BPCL as India’s second-largest state refiner is known, planned to pay Iran for crude purchases by using the accounts of other government-run processors at Halk Bank, three people with knowledge of the situation said Dec. 21. That plan has now been rejected by the Turkish lender after BPCL made some payments, three of the people said yesterday.

    Nobody answered a phone message left by Bloomberg News yesterday at Halk Bank’s office in Ankara.

    Stop Supplies

    BPCL, which started buying about 20,000 barrels a day of Iranian crude through a term contract in September, is considering whether to stop taking supplies, they said.

    Indian refiners’ debts to Iran for purchases rose to as much as $5 billion in July, the Islamic Republic News Agency cited Central Bank Governor Mahmoud Bahmani as saying. The outstanding payments threatened to jeopardize about $9.5 billion in annual trade between the nations, with Iran telling customers they wouldn’t receive August shipments unless the bills were paid, according to the Fars news agency. The refiners started clearing the outstanding payments in August after Halk Bank agreed to make transfers.

    U.S. President Barack Obama on Dec. 31 signed into law measures that deny access to the U.S. financial system to any foreign bank that conducts business with the central bank of Iran. The law includes language that allows the president to waive the sanctions if he determines they would threaten national security.

    –With assistance from Steve Bryant in Ankara and Eduard Gismatullin in London, Editors: Raj Rajendran, Rachel Graham.

    To contact the reporters on this story: Pratish Narayanan in Mumbai at pnarayanan9@bloomberg.net; Anto Antony in New Delhi at aantony1@bloomberg.net

    To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net; Chitra Somayaji at csomayaji@bloomberg.net

    via India Said to Be Told Turkey May Stop Routing Iran Oil Payments – Businessweek.

  • Turkey Resists US Sanctions Against Iran Despite US Envoy Visit

    Turkey Resists US Sanctions Against Iran Despite US Envoy Visit

    Turkey Resists US Sanctions Against Iran Despite US Envoy Visit

    Dorian Jones | Istanbul, Turkey

    Photo: AP Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) and US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns speak after the Istanbul Conference for Afghanistan in Istanbul, Turkey, November 2011. (file photo)
    Photo: AP Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) and US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns speak after the Istanbul Conference for Afghanistan in Istanbul, Turkey, November 2011. (file photo)

    U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns is visiting close ally Turkey to further press international sanctions against Iran over its controversial nuclear energy program. However, Ankara remains opposed to the new U.S.-led measures.

    Although Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has ruled out enforcing new U.S.-led sanctions against Iran, American envoy William Burns is in Ankara trying to change Turkey’s mind. Turkey enforces United Nations measures against Iran, but refuses to join other sanctions pushed by the U.S. and the European Union.

    Semih Idiz, who writes for the Turkish newspaper Milliyet, said Burns is the latest in a string of high-level American officials to visit Turkey.

    “Turkey has made it clear it’s against sanctions on Iran. So now we see Washington actively lobbying Turkey at the highest level. This adds pressure on Turkey, of course. But it doesn’t resolve Turkey’s dilemma of having to tread a cautious line between these two sides,” said Idiz.

    Turkey claims Iranians will face undue economic hardship if it complies with additional U.S. sanctions that target Iran’s energy sector.

    But Turkish companies also are profiting from Ankara’s resistance, said Turkey-Iran expert Mehrdad Emadi.

    “This importance has gained momentum in the last 16 months, where some of the trade from the United Arab Emirates has been diverted to Turkey because the United Arab Emirates has come under pressure from European Union and American authorities,” said Emadi.

    Turkish banks are benefiting, as well. They transfer as much as a billion dollars a month to Tehran. The Turkish state-controlled Halkbank is facilitating payment for Iran’s oil exports, in particular from India. The bank, having no offices in the United States, is largely immune to any U.S. punishment for violating Washington’s sanctions.

    International relations expert Sol Ozel of Kadir Has University said Turkey is siding with its banks.

    “There has been a lot of pressure by American treasury on Turkey to stop that. But Halkbank is a state bank. Therefore, obviously Turkey is resisting to cooperate, which suggests Turkey wishes to continue to play this dual game of aligning itself increasingly with United States,” said Ozel.

    Despite the divide over economics and trade, Turkish and U.S. policies across the region are increasingly converging. Ankara last year agreed to participate in a NATO missile defense system aimed at Iran. The move was widely seen as an important sign of Ankara’s allegiance to its Western allies and against its Iranian neighbor.

    Turkish diplomatic correspondent Idiz said neither the U.S. nor Turkey has an interest in a falling-out over Iran sanctions.

    “The American side I don’t think will want to go [into] any kind of confrontation mode with Turkey at such a delicate moment in the region when it’s just pulled out of Iraq and the situation with Iran is escalating and the situation in Syria is ongoing. So I think there will be some balancing of interests and arriving at certain understanding. They are more in need of each other than squabbling over these issues,” said Idiz.

    Ankara is pressing for a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear program. Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoglu said after visiting Tehran last week that Turkey could host an international gathering to resolve the crisis.

    Observers say there is little optimism, though, for a breakthrough. That means pressure for further international sanctions on Iran from Turkey’s Western allies is likely to continue, along with pressure on Ankara to enforce them.

    via Turkey Resists US Sanctions Against Iran Despite US Envoy Visit | Europe | English.

  • Iran Tensions Would Force Turkey Into Choosing

    Iran Tensions Would Force Turkey Into Choosing

    Turkey is trying to mediate between Iran and the EU as well as Iran and the Sunnis, to its own advantage.

    By Amiel Ungar

    First Publish: 1/8/2012, 12:05 AM

    img314204

    (Davutoglu right, Wikipedia)

    Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has just completed a trip to Iran. He is trying to cool down two crises. The first is the escalating talk of war and sanctions between the West and Iran and the second is the eruption of conflict between Sunnis and Shiites triggered by the governmental crisis in Iraq.

    If either of these crises escalates, Turkey will have to choose sides. That is something it doesn’t really want, given its burgeoning trade ties with Iran (estimated at $15 billion a year and growing) and the fact that it imports thirty percent of its energy from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

    If the European Union goes through with its plan to impose an embargo on oil purchases from Iran, pressure will grow on Turkey to follow suit unless it can obtain a waiver from the United States. Playing the role of intermediary is a way of letting Turkey off the hook while earning the gratitude of the countries in the European Union who would like to avoid more serious sanctions against Iran.

    Similarly, an unraveling of the situation in Iraq leading to open hostilities between the Shiites and Sunnis could also produce escalation with Iran, the patron of the Shiites. That would cause the Gulf States to pressure Turkey, a Sunni state, to weaken its connection with Iran. During his visit to Iran, the Turkish Foreign Minister met with Moqtada al-Sadr, the firebrand Shiite cleric who commands the so-called Mahdi Army in Iran.

    An article appearing in the Christian Science Monitor argued that Turkey and Iran have effectively partitioned Iraq with Turkey in charge of the Kurdish zone and Iran taking the Shiite East, thereby upending Western diplomacy. A contrary argument could be made that such a partition would be detrimental to Turkey as it would add Kurdish Iraq to the existing Kurdish population in Turkey.

    The visit by the Turkish foreign minister comes after Turkey had backed the insurgents in Syria against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, a major ally of Iran. This resulted in the flareup of tensions between Turkey and Iran. Now Davutoglu sought to transmit the reassuring message that Turkey and Iran can contribute to a solution in Iraq and Syria.

    “We do not regard any country a threat to us; we confide in Iran and Iran confides in us; the trust is mutual,”

    “If relations between Turkey and Iran were at the level they were 10 years ago, a sectarian clash would have already erupted in the region,” Davutoğlu told a group of reporters aboard his plane back to Ankara, according to the pro-government Zaman. Fortunately, he implied, Turkey and Iran were acting responsibly to keep sectarian tensions in check.

    via Iran Tensions Would Force Turkey Into Choosing – Middle East – News – Israel National News.

  • Iran: Turkey is best place for nuclear talks

    Iran: Turkey is best place for nuclear talks

    TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – An Iranian news agency is quoting the country’s foreign minister as saying Turkey is the best place for further talks with world powers about Iran’s nuclear program.

    According to a report Thursday by the semiofficial Isna agency, Ali Akbar Salehi said Iran agreed after Turkey announced its readiness to host the talks. He was speaking at news conference with his visiting Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu.

    On Saturday, Saeed Jalili, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator said he had called on the six powers — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany — to resume talks.

    The invitation comes in after new Western sanctions over Tehran’s uranium enrichment program. The U.S. and others charge Iran is aiming for nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

    via Iran: Turkey is best place for nuclear talks – USATODAY.com.

  • US lawmakers to visit France, Turkey, Mideast

    US lawmakers to visit France, Turkey, Mideast

    US lawmakers to visit France, Turkey, Mideast

    (AFP) – 1 day ago

    WASHINGTON — Senior US lawmakers said Thursday they would travel next week to France, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to discuss ways to pressure Iran.

    “I look forward to discussing a wide range of issues, including the very concerning threat posed to the entire world by Iran’s continuing support for terrorism and its pursuit of nuclear capability,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who will lead the delegation, said in a statement in Washington.

    “One goal that all responsible nations must be committed to is preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon,” said House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, another senior member of the group.

    Ros-Lehtinen, an adviser to Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, said she would also “press” the countries involved “on policies which undermine US interests and run contrary to democratic values,” but did not elaborate.

    “I will also use this as an opportunity to press these governments to respect human rights, particularly with respect to women, and end religious intolerance” in the wake of the Arab Spring, she said.

    Ros-Lehtinen also said she would discuss Washington’s opposition to “unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state” outside of negotiations with Israel, which have long been stalled.

    The delegation will also include Republican Representative Kay Granger, who heads the House committee that allots foreign aid, and the group’s sole Democrat will be Representative Peter Welch.

    via AFP: US lawmakers to visit France, Turkey, Mideast.

  • Iran proposes to reopen nuclear talks

    Iran proposes to reopen nuclear talks

    Islamic republic says it has notified UN of its intention to resume negotiations amid confusion over reported missile tests

    • David Batty and agencies
    • guardian.co.uk,

    Irans top nuclear negotia 007

    Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili says his country is ready to return to the table. Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA

    Iran has proposed to reopen negotiations about its controversial nuclear programme with the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.

    The invitation by Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, comes in the wake of new sanctions recently imposed by the UN over Tehran’s uranium enrichment programme.

    The last round of talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN security council and Germany – held in Istanbul in January – ended in failure.

    “We formally declared to them [the intent] to return to the path of dialogue for cooperation,” Jalili told Iranian diplomats in Tehran, according to the official IRNA news agency.

    Iran’s ambassador to Germany, Ali Reza Sheikh Attar, said earlier on Saturday that Jalili would write to the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, to arrange a new round of talks.

    The proposal for new negotiations came as there were conflicting reports as to whether Iran had tested long-range missiles during naval exercises in the Persian Gulf. Iran’s state media initially reported early on Saturday that missiles had been launched – a move likely to worry the west, which is concerned over threats by Tehran to close a vital oil shipping route.

    But Iranian deputy navy commander Mahmoud Mousavi later told Press TV that no missiles had been fired. “The exercise of launching missiles will be carried out in the coming days,” he told the channel, owned by the state Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Corporation.

    The UN has imposed four rounds of sanctions on Tehran over the nuclear enrichment, while the US and the EU have also imposed their own sanctions.

    Earlier in December, Iran reinstated an offer for the International Atomic Energy Agency to visit Tehran, although it did not say whether officials would be able to focus on suspicions that Iran is secretly working on nuclear arms – a key condition set by the agency.

    The US and Israel have not ruled out a military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities if Tehran doesn’t stop its nuclear programme. Jalili warned that any attack on Iran would be met with retaliation. “We will give a response that will make the aggressor regret any threat against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.

    via Iran proposes to reopen nuclear talks | World news | guardian.co.uk.