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Iran, Turkey strengthen trade relations despite US sanctions

November 15, 2018 at 11:51 am

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) meets Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) ahead of trilateral summit between Turkey, Iran and Russia on 7 September 2018 in Tehran, Iran [Kayhan Özer/Anadolu Agency]

Iran is seeking to strengthen bilateral trade relations with Turkey during the US sanctions imposed on Tehran which came into force earlier this month.

Mohsen Nariman, the managing director of Aras Free Trade-Industrial Zone, said that 60 per cent of the companies operating in the zone are foreign companies while 30 per cent of them are Turkish companies, adding that the region is free of tariffs and taxes.

He stressed that Turkey is considered the most important country for Iran among countries that were exempt from US sanctions.

“We have business relations with Turkey for many years, and these relations can not be broken,” he said.

Erdogan: Turkey will not abide by US sanctions on Iran

Meanwhile, Davut Behbudi, the head of the Tabriz Planning and Administration Organisation said trade relations between Iran and Turkey are deep, noting that the US sanctions will have a slight impact on those relations, and the two countries are bound by trade agreements.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier that his country opposes the US sanctions on Iran and considers them “wrong” while Iranian officials said trade relations between the two countries will not be affected by the sanctions.