Zarif's 'Unannounced' Trip to Turkey

On Wednesday, September 7, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made an 'unannounced' visit to Ankara to meet with the country's president and deliver an invitation from Hassan Rouhani for a summit of the leaders of Iran, Turkey, and Russia. The Turkish Foreign Minister mentioned that U.S. sanctions were among the potential topics discussed during Zarif's meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. According to the TRT network, Zarif met Erdoğan at the headquarters of the Justice and Development Party in Ankara. The Turkish Foreign Minister stated that bilateral relations and the issue of Syria were the subjects of discussion between Zarif and Erdoğan. In response to a question about whether U.S. sanctions against the two countries were raised during the meeting, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said, 'I am not sure, but it seems the Iranian side may bring up this issue.' Turkey had previously declared that it would not comply with U.S. sanctions; however, data from Turkey's Energy Market Regulatory Authority shows that the country's daily oil purchases from Iran fell to about 70,000 barrels in June, a threefold decrease compared to the previous month, marking the lowest level since the lifting of sanctions against Iran in early 2016. Reports indicate that some of Iran's actions to circumvent Western sanctions were carried out in Turkey before the JCPOA agreement. Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-origin businessman accused of illegally transferring billions of dollars in currency and gold for the Iranian government, has confessed to his crimes and provided information to U.S. authorities. Mehmet Hakan Atilla, a Turkish banker from the state-owned Halkbank, was also sentenced to 32 months in prison by a New York court on charges of violating Iran sanctions. The ISNA news agency referred to Zarif's trip as 'unannounced,' noting that no prior announcement had been made regarding this visit. Previously, Bahram Qasemi, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, had announced that Zarif would travel to Pakistan on Thursday. Delivering Hassan Rouhani's invitation to Erdoğan was cited as one of the reasons for Zarif's trip to Turkey. Zarif also mentioned cooperation between the two countries and the upcoming summit with Russia in Tehran as topics of his visit. Reports indicate that the presidents of Iran, Russia, and Turkey, who are negotiating regarding the Syrian crisis, are scheduled to meet in Iran on September 7. If held, this would be the third such meeting at this level regarding the Syrian issue. Iran and Russia are the main supporters of Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey supports several opposition groups against Assad. The three countries began negotiations regarding the Syrian crisis in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, which ultimately led to agreements, including the establishment of ceasefire zones in Syria. On the other hand, relations between Ankara and Washington have recently become tense following the imprisonment of American pastor Andrew Brunson in Turkey. Washington has called Brunson's trial 'unfair' and has sanctioned Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül and Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu for their roles in Brunson's detention. However, tensions have not been limited to sanctions, as the U.S. has recently doubled import tariffs on steel and aluminum from Turkey.