“The US sanctions stand for the US,” Caglayan said at a Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey (TUSKON) meeting held in Istanbul on Wednesday.
“We have multilateral international agreements. These deals, which we are a party to, are binding for us. The statements by the EU are not binding since we are not a member [of the bloc],” Caglayan added.
He said that any fresh US move to cut gold trade with Iran would not affect Turkey.
The Turkish official’s remarks came after reports that the US Senate is considering new sanctions against Iran that would prevent Iran getting paid for its natural gas exports in gold bullion.
A senior US Senate aide said that the sanctions would end Turkey's sale of gold to Iran in payment for importing natural gas, referring to reports that Turkey has been paying for natural gas with gold due to the sanctions’ rules.
The United States, Israel and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Over the false allegation, Washington and the European Union have imposed unilateral illegal sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Iran refutes the allegations and argues that as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
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