“We are not a member of the European Union. Because of this, decisions made by the EU are not legally binding for Turkey in anyway. Turkey can say the same sentences about the decisions made by the US,” Yildiz said in a news conference on Friday.
On New Year’s Eve, the United States imposed new sanctions against Iran aimed at preventing other countries from importing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with its central bank.
European Union foreign ministers also approved sanctions against Iran’s oil and financial sectors on January 23, including a ban on Iranian oil imports, a freeze on the assets of the country’s central bank within EU states, and a ban on selling grains, diamonds, gold, and other precious metals to Tehran.
Yildiz further blamed Western sanctions against Iran for driving oil prices to their highest levels over the past years.
In the wake of Iran’s decision to halt oil exports to some European countries in response to the sanctions, oil prices have hit record highs.
Brent oil jumped to 93.60 euros per barrel on Thursday, beating the pre-financial crisis price of 93.46 euros in 2008.
In New York on Thursday, light sweet crude for delivery in April, rose 64 cents to more than USD 108 per barrel, while the North Sea Brent crude for April delivery gained 60 cents to over USD 124 in morning trade.
The United States, Israel and some of their allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program and have used this pretext to push for four rounds of UN sanctions and a series of unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
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Turkey’s Energy Minister Taner Yildiz has once again reiterated that his country will not abide by EU and US sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
News ID 181525
