Turkey says to continue trade with Iran despite U.S. nuke deal pullout

Turkey will continue trade with Iran in accordance with UN resolutions, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said on Friday.

A unilateral statement on the withdrawal from the agreement does not mean its invalidation, and it is just an attempt of one of the parties to impose its own rules, Zeybekci said in an interview with state-run Anadolu Agency.

The minister stressed that Iran is a "friendly and brother" country for Turkey, which has "more extensive" economic ties with Iran, including energy imports from Tehran.

"We believe in this: the stronger Iran gets in this region, the stronger Turkey becomes as well, and the stronger Turkey becomes, the stronger Iran gets as well," he said.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced to pull the United States out of the 2015 nuclear agreement, vowing to re-impose sanctions on Iran that were lifted as part of the deal.