Sanctions against Iran

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Friday that Ankara would retaliate against potential US sanctions over its purchase of Russian defense systems and a natural gas pipeline.

In response to Turkey's repeated violations of Cyprus' exclusive economic zones (EEZ), European Union foreign ministers adopted a mechanism on Monday which would make it possible "to sanction individuals or entities responsible for, or involved in, unauthorized drilling activities of hydrocarbons." 

"In the spirit of our bilateral cooperation, Tomas Zarzecki, Director of Task Force 231 of the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, is making a short, pre-planned visit to Serbia", the US diplomatic mission in Belgrade said.

According to the newspaper's source, this task force is in charge of applying sanctions to the Russian security sector and those who cooperate with it.
Zarzecki's visit, the newspaper said, was scheduled immediately after it was announced in Serbia that we had purchased the Russian air defense system "Pantsir".

Turkey's state-owned Halkbank has denied any wrongdoing after U.S. prosecutors charged the lender with partaking in a scheme to evade U.S sanctions on Iran.

The United States offered to remove all sanctions on Iran in exchange for talks, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sept. 27 upon returning to Tehran from the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to his official website.

On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the three signatories to the agreement said that, in the event of new breaches of the agreement, they would launch a special dispute mechanism.
In that case, the entire nuclear deal would fail and the UN could re-impose sanctions on Iran.

The U.S. is imposing sanctions on Iran's central bank, President Donald Trump announced on Sept. 20.

Iran said on Sept. 6 it had taken a step to further downgrade its commitments to a 2015 nuclear deal with the world's most powerful nations, according to Iranian media, in retaliation to U.S. sanctions reimposed on Tehran.

The United States has imposed sanctions on Iran's space program, saying the recent explosion  is a sign of rocket work.

"The United States will not allow Iran to use its space launch program as a cover for the progress of its ballistic missile programs," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.