Turkey’s Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek said in an interview with international media that Ankara does not pay the Islamic Republic directly with the money for imported gas from Iran, and that these amounts are kept in an account subject to strict regulations based on an understanding with the United States.

Şimşek said that the Islamic Republic can use the balance of this account only to pay for the costs of permitted goods, including food and medicine, and that payments are made according to a specific framework.

He also said that Turkey cooperates with the United States and other partners to combat money laundering, circumvent sanctions, and finance terrorism, and that companies operating in Turkey must comply with the country’s regulations and avoid transactions covered by sanctions.

The Turkish treasury minister said Iran’s share in this country’s gas imports is relatively limited, and said that the United States is now one of the main suppliers of liquefied natural gas to Turkey.