Oil Prices hiked in Turkey over US sanctions on Iran

US decision to re-impose economic sanctions on the Iranian Republic will hit Turkey hard next week as the waiver to continue to buy oil from Iran expires. Turkey which is an energy-hungry nation will have to suffer the aftermath of the unilateral decision taken by the US administration. Turkey was among the eight nations which had been granted an exemption from any economic sanctions if it continued to import oil from Iran.
US administration under the Presidency of Donald Trump had re-imposed sanctions on Iran after it had withdrawn from the internationally brokered Nuclear Deal with Iran in order to put curbs over the Iranian nuclear program. The waiver from the sanctions is set to expire on May 02, 2019 despite insistence by Turkey that it needs to keep importing oil from Iran in order to fulfil its energy needs. The US, has however indicated that no such waiver will now be granted going further.
Ibrahim Kalin, the spokesman for the Turkish President stated that “We have made it clear we would like to continue to buy Iranian oil. People should not expect Turkey to turn its back on Iran just like that”. The last hope of Turkey to extend the trade was thwarted on Monday when Washington had called for the purchase of oil to end on May 1.
Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State has further added that the supply of oil from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will continue to ensure that there is no oil shock and the prices of oil are maintained at the current rate of $75 per barrel. In a stark response, the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated that “Turkey rejects unilateral sanctions and impositions on how we conduct relations with neighbours”. He also warned that the current US stance is a threat to regional peace and security.
With the rise in domestic demand for energy, Turkey has developed close ties with Iran in the recent past. Turkey significantly lacks any kind of hydrocarbon reserves and has to satisfy a major portion of energy needs from abroad. It spends a total of around $43 billion on imports on energy every year. Iranian energy accounts for nearly 45 per cent of the energy needs of Turkey. Another reason behind Ankara’s inclination towards Iran is that its relations with other regional powers have gone sour.