Gold for Oil - Turkey skirting Iran sanctions by trading gold for crude

Turkey has exchanged nearly 60 tons of gold for several million tons of Iranian crude oil, despite its promises to uphold Western sanctions on Iran’s energy sector, according to recent Turkish reports.

By using gold instead of money, Turkey is able to skirt Western sanctions on Iran’s oil trade, particularly those pertaining to SWIFT, the global money transfer service that until recently assisted the Central Bank of Iran and other Iranian financial institutions.

Over the past several months, Turkey has given Iran 60 tons of gold, or more than $3 billion, according to a July 8 report on the Turkish news site Vatan Online. The report was translated by the Open Source Center, a translation service used by the CIA.

The exchanges raise questions about the Obama administration’s decision to grant Turkey a temporary waiver exempting it from U.S. sanctions to Iran, according to foreign policy experts and those on Capitol Hill who speculated that the revelation could spur Congress to pass a new round of Iran sanctions to prevent such trades.

“The idea that Turkey needs a waiver for more time to disconnect itself from the Iran oil trade is ludicrous,” said Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon adviser on Iran and Iraq. “Turkey is playing Obama for a fool.”

“Like a loose school girl, Obama may think he can become popular by giving away the goods to whomever tells him he is the apple of their eye,” said Rubin, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. “Obama doesn’t understand that for regional rulers like [Turkish Prime Minister] Erdogan and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, he has gained not respect, but disdain.”

“Obama doesn’t understand that for regional rulers like [Turkish Prime Minister] Erdogan and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, he has gained not respect, but disdain.”

So as I understand the harsh punishment of Iran consists of forcing them to take pure gold instead of green paper as payment for their oil?

If that is the punishment, plenty of OPEC countries want the same punishment inflicted upon them. Even I don't mind being paid in gold.

Iranian client state Syria shoots down Turkish plane.

Turkey sends 60 tons of gold to Iran.

How much of that gold finds its way to Syria?

3 posted on 07/12/2012 6:12:04 PM PDT by Palmetto Patriot (How much better off would we be if these bastards would just leave us alone?)

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