US State Dept: "We have no problem with legal Turkish-Iranian trade ties"

Turkey's trade ties with Iran don't contradict US efforts to isolate the Islamic republic, the US State Department said Wednesday. "Turkey is a neighbor of Iran," Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley told a daily press briefing. "It does have an economic relationship with Iran, and in fact, there are categories where trade between countries and Iran are fully authorized." Crowley said there are certain categories under UN sanctions on Iran that are prohibited and that Turkey has clearly indicated that it will abide by those. On Turkey hosting the next round of talks between the Iran and the P5+1 (five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) next month, Crowley said the US hopes the meeting will be the start of a serious process.