Turkish President Receep Tayyip Erdogan signs decree freezing assets of Iranian nuclear-linked entities. Image credit: RUSI
The move, signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was published on Wednesday in Turkey’s Official Gazette, the state law gazette. It targets Iran’s energy, shipping, banking, and research sectors, Ankara’s toughest under international sanctions since the 2015 nuclear deal.
Major Iranian Entities Targeted
Among the organisations singled out for being targeted are:
Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), Bank Sepah and Bank Sepah International, Isfahan Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center (NFRPC), Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center (ENTC), Karaj Nuclear Research Center, Mesbah Energy Company, Novin Energy Company, Jaber Ibn Hayan Company, Kavoshyar Company, and Modern Industries Technique Company, Pars Tarash Company, Pishgam (Pioneer) Energy Industries, South Shipping Line Iran, Irano Hind Shipping Company, IRISL Benelux NV
In combination, the decree is aimed at the 18 institutions’ and 20 individuals’ properties engaged in Iran’s nuclear and military programs.
The move aligns Turkey’s actions in 2006, 2015, and 2021 to implement UN Security Council resolutions. The move follows the reimposition of sanctions under the UN “snapback” mechanism initiated by European powers on September 28 for blaming Tehran for violating its nuclear obligations.
The snapback sanctions were set aside in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), but with talks at a standstill and Iran limiting nuclear inspections, Europe, the U.S., and allies have re-imposed the sanctions.
Later in the day, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned 21 organizations and 17 individuals who are involved in Iran’s missile purchasing networks in Iran, China, Germany, and Turkey.
Rising Tensions with Tehran
Iran has denounced the snapback sanctions as illegal, recalling its ambassadors from Germany, France, and Italy, and threatened to stop International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections. Tehran insists that its nuclear program is peaceful, even though Western claims it tried to develop weapons up to 2003.
The fresh sanctions are a culmination of months of heightened tensions. Israel struck Iranian nuclear sites for 12 days in June, with the participation of U.S. bunker-busting bombing. Washington-Tehran talks since then have collapsed.
Turkey’s implementation of the sanctions demonstrates that it is willing to back international efforts at thwarting Iranian nuclear ambitions despite its strained diplomatic and economic ties with its eastern neighbour.
Analysts describe the move as an effort by Ankara to balance things with Western allies while not completely breaking off relations with Tehran.
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