US envoy reassures Ankara after sanctions on Turkish bank over alleged Iran ties
Tom Barrack stresses that the measure targets one institution, praises Turkey’s response and says the alliance will emerge stronger
US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack sought to reassure Ankara on Saturday after the Treasury sanctioned a Turkish bank over its alleged cooperation with Iran, stressing that the measure was not directed at Turkey, its financial system or the US ally more broadly.
The Treasury on Friday designated Golden Global Bank and two of its subsidiaries, accusing them of facilitating tens of millions of dollars in transactions for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force. Barrack said US and Turkish officials had remained in “direct and continuous contact” throughout the process.
“This designation is aimed at the conduct of one entity, not at a nation, not at a banking system, and not at an ally,” Barrack said. “The health of the Turkish financial system is not in question; the conduct of one institution was.”
Striking a markedly conciliatory tone, the ambassador praised the Turkish authorities for engaging with Washington to “clarify the ambiguities” surrounding the case and beginning a process intended to strengthen financial transparency. He described Ankara’s response as that of “a mature partner determined that its own house be, and be seen to be, in order.”
The Treasury said Golden Global was established to help a network serving Iran’s leadership transfer oil revenues from China to Turkey, where money exchangers could convert the funds into cash and gold. It also accused the bank of knowingly providing correspondent banking services to Iranian institutions, allowing them to conduct international transactions through accounts controlled by the Quds Force and its proxies.
The sanctions, imposed under Washington’s “Operation Economic Outcast,” place the bank and its subsidiaries on the Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals list, effectively cutting them off from the US financial system. Golden Global has rejected the allegations and said it would pursue legal action.
Barrack said the episode should ultimately be seen as a demonstration of the strength of US-Turkish relations rather than a strain on them, citing “an American action taken after great deliberation, a Turkish response to address with timely and proper investigation, and a shared commitment to transparency.”