"Turkey's oil purchase contract with Iran expires in August. This contract will definitely be extended because Iran covers about 45-40 percent of Turkey's oil needs," Yildiz told reporters in Libyan capital, Tripoli, late on Sunday.
At the beginning of 2012, the US and the European Union imposed new sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors with the goal of preventing other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran.
On October 15, 2012, the EU foreign ministers reached an agreement on another round of sanctions against Iran.
Yildiz, however, stated that Tupras, which is controlled by Turkey's biggest company Koc Holding, will continue to buy the same amount of oil from Iran as it has been under the US exemption.
On December 7, the United States granted 180-day waivers on Iran oil sanctions to Turkey, China, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Taiwan
The December action was the second renewal for all 20 after Obama signed the sanctions into law a year ago.
The illegal US-engineered sanctions were imposed based on the unfounded accusation that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Iran rejects the allegation, arguing that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
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