Iran-Turkey

Diplomatic Relations
After the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Turkey was one of the first countries to officially recognise the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to online publication Foreign Policy, in the 1990s Turkey and Iran signed a $24 billion gas deal despite allegations from both sides of support to terrorist organisations on one another’s soil. The deal lasted for the next ten years while the two countries were 'competing for influence in Central Asia, and Turkey strengthened defence cooperation with Israel’.

The two Middle Eastern, non-Arab states shared a cordial relationship but events in Syria in 2012 have changed this. As of 2012, Turkey is aligned with Western calls for Syrian President Assad’s resignation while Iran supports the suppression of Syrian rebel forces. As of 2010, Turkey and Iran also found themselves on opposing sides with regard to issues in Iraq and Bahrain.

Oil and Trade
According to a Reuters 'report, in 2011 Turkey imported an average of 180,000 bpd of Iranian oil. However, as of July 2012, a pledge to reduce imports by 20 percent to win a waiver from US sanctionssanctions saw Turkey’s purchases fall significantly. Moreover, imports from Iran were expected to drop further because of the EU move to stop insuring oil tankers carrying Iranian oil. Given the pressure of complying with international sanctions, Turkey has made an effort to diversify its oil supplies. In June 2012, Iranian oil accounted for little over one third of its total crude purchases. This is a substantial drop from March 2012 when Turkey was importing 67 percent of its oil from Iran. Increased purchases of Saudi, Iraqi and Russian crude replaced the oil imported by Iran. Given Turkey’s lukewarm relations with Iraq and Russia, the increased level of trade came as a surprise.

Iran’s oil minister Rostam Qasemi was due to meet the Turkish Energy minister Taner Yildiz in August 2012 in efforts to revive demand for Iranian crude.

Turkey also imports natural gas from Iran. However, Iran’s consumption of gas is so high that its export potential is limited and often has to import heating fuel from Turkmenistan during the winter.

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