The United States announces measures against Iran’s economic partners. Here is the impact on Ankara’s energy contracts and markets.
An unknown hovers over the future of relations between Washington and Ankara: we are talking about the new sanctions that the US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessentthreatened against those countries that continue to maintain financial and commercial ties with Iran. Well, according to Al Jazeera, in 2024 the Türkiye it was the fourth largest economic partner of the Islamic Republic. In particular, Ankara imports gas, petrochemical products, food and construction materials from Tehran. “Last year Turkey imported about 13% of its natural gas from Iran, equal to 7.7 billion cubic meters”, Bloomberg News also reported yesterday, according to which “Turkey continued to import Iranian gas even after the expiration, at the end of July, of a twenty-five-year contract for 9.5 billion cubic meters per year”.
In short, the economic-commercial ties between Ankara and Tehran are objective. And this potentially puts Turkey in the crosshairs of the new economic squeeze that the US Treasury Department he just threatened against the Khomeini regime. This is a situation that harbingers of consequences on both a diplomatic and geopolitical level. In fact, let’s not forget that, in recent months, Donald Trump has significantly strengthened its side with Recep Tayyip Erdogan on various fronts: from NATO to the Syrian dossier. The latter situation has significantly irritated the Israeli government, which increasingly sees Turkey as one of its main rivals at a regional level. Without forgetting that Ankara, together with Islamabad, is among the most determined supporters of the need to relaunch diplomacy between Washington and Tehran.
The strategic crossroads between loyalty to Washington and energy needs
So what? What should we expect? The new American economic restrictions against Iran are destined to create turbulence in relations between the United States and Turkey? It cannot be ruled out, of course. At the same time, it is also true that Erdogan has seen his geopolitical influence significantly strengthen thanks to the increasingly close relationship he has established with Trump. Which is why it is unlikely that Ankara will opt for a break with Washington. In this respect, according to Bloomberg News, it is possible that the Turkish government could choose to increase its own gas imports from the United States, as well as strengthening energy ties with theAzerbaijan.
