BREAKING NEWS

Minister: Turkish banks to be able to make Iran transactions

By REUTERS

NOVEMBER 28, 2013 13:32

ISTANBUL - All Turkish banks will be able to make Iranian transactions as sanctions on Iran are eased in the wake of a deal between Tehran and six world powers to curb Tehran's nuclear program, Turkey's economy minister said on Thursday.

The agreement eased some sanctions on trade with Iran that have slashed the OPEC member's exports by more than half and cost it as much as $80 billion in lost oil sales since the beginning of 2012, according to White House estimates.

State-owned Halkbank, one of Turkey's biggest banks, had continued to process transactions, remaining one of the few to do so in the face of U.S. sanctions targeting financial institutions that dealt with Iran's central bank.

"Because of the pressure exerted by the United States, private banks were unable to process (Iranian) transactions. Now that obstacle has been removed, not only Halkbank but other banks will be able to process payments," Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan told reporters in Istanbul.

His comments are the first confirmation from Turkey about how it sees the deal affecting its banks.

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