February 21, 2014 | Quote

Turkey Should Come Under Scrutiny for Dealings With Iran, Says Think Tank

Turkey could become a major problem for the Obama administration if it continues to turn a blind eye to the country’s shady financing deals, an influential foreign policy think tank warns in a new report.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan should come under more scrutiny for his country’s business deals with Iran as well as several other financial arrangements, the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based group, argues. This comes at a time when the U.S. has been reluctant to interfere with a domestic scandal involving bribery and fraud, a scandal in which Erdogan and members of his inner circle, including his son, are involved.

“The corruption scandal has been grabbing headlines in Turkey and the U.S. has made it pretty clear that this is seen as a domestic issue,” Dr. Jonathan Schanzer, vice president of research at the foundation and author of the report, told ABC. “But what we have noted is that a good number of these corruption stories have intersected with terrorism finance concerns.”

Read the full article here.

Issues:

Iran Iran Sanctions Turkey