"I don’t know how legitimate and how lawful these unilateral sanctions of the United States [are]. I think it must be based on international legitimacy, that means the UN Security Council resolution. Unilateral steps concerning imposing sanctions are always counterproductive," Yilmaz said.
The politician, however, expressed hope that the situation would not lead to a spree of tit-for-tat sanctions, and the sides would reach a compromise.
According to Yilmaz, the sanctions would produce a minor impact on Turkish businesses working with Iran.
"As for the impact on Turkish companies, I think sanctions will have limited impact on Turkish companies which have ties with Iranian companies," Yilmaz noted.
On Thursday, the United States imposed sanctions on nine individuals and entities for procuring US origin goods for sanctioned Iranian airlines. Turkish citizen Gulnihal Yegane and a network of firms based in Istanbul, including Trigron Lojistik, RA Havacilik and 3G Lojistik, are among those affected by new restrictions.
On May 8, US President Donald Trump announced that Washington pulled out of the 2015 nuclear agreement, formerly known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which obliges Iran to maintain a peaceful nature of its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Additionally, Trump pledged to re-impose all the sanctions on Tehran that were lifted as part of the deal.
