Iran: US’ Sanctions on Turkish Ministers Prove Its ‘Addiction’

Iran’s top diplomat Mohammad-Javad Zarif says the US’ imposition of sanctions against two Turkish government officials indicates Washington has made a habit of bullying others through sanctions.

“US’ unlawful sanctions against two Turkish ministers – from an allied country – illustrates not just US administration’s policy of pressure and extortion in lieu of statecraft, but that its addiction to sanctions knows no bounds,” Zarif tweeted on Thursday.

The Trump administration placed sanctions on Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu to push Turkey to release the detained American pastor Andrew Brunson, sending relations between the NATO allies to a new low.

Brunson, who has lived in Turkey for nearly two decades, was arrested in 2017 and charged with complicity in the attempt to overthrow the Turkish government.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry registered a “strong protest” against actions it called inexplicable, vowing Turkey would reciprocate “without delay.”

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