Turkey: Mullahs’ new gateway to export goods

Nora Bandari

The ruling Iranian regime under the leadership of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is constantly searching for any way to dispose of its various goods and products without being subject to the US sanctions that led to the collapse of the Iranian economy and the local currency. To avoid this, the mullah regime has turned to its Turkish ally to help it out of this impasse by sending Iranian goods to Turkey and beginning to export them as Turkish, not Iranian, goods.

Turkish goods

Alireza Kolahi, chairman of Iran’s Abhar Wire and Cable Company and the Iranian Electricity Industry Syndicate, revealed in press statements on December 19 that the majority of companies in Iran are trying to avoid US sanctions by sending their goods to Turkey, paying customs duties, and then exporting them to other countries as Turkish goods.

It should be noted that this was the first time this recognition was issued by an official, although it is known that the Iranian regime is constantly looking for any way to sell its products, even illegally, so as not to fall under US sanctions. Since Turkey is allied with Iran, it is only natural that it would be the first contributor to saving Iran’s collapsed economy and currency.

However, Iraq is also one of the main destinations for the mullah regime, as the Iraqi borders have been smuggling some Iranian goods, in addition to the fact that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards can enter any Iranian products into Iraq without any fees being imposed on them, in addition to the presence of Iranian companies operating in various areas of Iraqi territory, enabling them to achieve a source of profit for the Iranian regime without being subject to Washington’s sanctions.

Iranian experience

Regarding the Iranian regime’s tendency this time to export its goods through Turkey, Dr. Masoud Ibrahim Hassan, a researcher specializing in Iranian affairs, explained that this Iranian recognition is not new to the mullah regime, which has great experience in circumventing the long-standing US sanctions. What is new is that it is a confession from an official, and it also confirms the ability of the regime to face sanctions in any way.

In an exclusive statement to the Reference, Hassan pointed out that this Iranian recognition may subject the Turkish economy and Turkish companies to US sanctions as well, considering them a participant in this crime, and Iran has already done so with Iraq and Afghanistan, with some Iraqi institutions already having been subjected to sanctions.

It is worth noting that Iran’s trend this time towards the Turkish gateway came after the Iranian economy collapsed significantly recently and the aggravation of crises, including water, electricity, and the internet, as well as the high rates of unemployment and suicides. This eventually led to citizens protesting to denounce the failure of the regime led by Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi in managing the country’s domestic and foreign crises, especially as there are expectations of new sanctions being imposed on Tehran if it does not stop its intransigence regarding the negotiations to revive the nuclear agreement in Vienna, in addition to Tehran’s continuation so far of increasing its uranium enrichment rate despite the rejection of the United States and the European Troika.