The heat is on Turkey to cool it with Iran.
 
Time, September 6, 2010 – Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen has told Turkey it must join the international coalition seeking to contain Iran. Speaking in Ankara over the weekend Mullen said “The mutual goal of Iran not achieving a nuclear-weapons capability, that we completely agree on, we just need to reinforce. ”
 
Turkey is also under significant economic pressure from the US – a  Treasury delegation was in Ankara two weeks ago,  warning key banks and private companies not to do business with Iran.
Many Iranian banks turned to Turkey when the UN, EU and US imposed fresh economic sanctions in June and froze many of Iran’s foreign assets. Following the US Treasury delegation’s visit, many Turkish banks have reportedly ceased doing business with Iran.
 
The US and Turkey have a mutually dependant military relationship – Turkey relies on the US for arms sales. For the US,  Turkey – as a Nato member and with one of the world’s largest standing armies – is a key ally as a landforce in Afghanistan. Its territory will likely also serve as a land route for removing US equipment from Iraq.
 
President Obama has personally warned Turkish Premier Tayyip  Erdogan in that Turkey would forfeit a major arms deal (to purchase drone aircraft)  – if it did not cool its relationship with Iran and reconsider a controversial fuel swap deal brokered with Iran in May.
Turkey has long sought drone techology – but its need is increasingly urgent as it anticipates border tensions with the PKK  as US forces withdraw.
 
In May, Turkey and  Brazil, voted against a UN sanctions resolution on Iran and brokered an independant deal with Tehran whereby Turkey would receive unprocessed uranium from Iran, and send back smaller amounts of enriched uranium for use in a medical reactor.
 
Iran has so far given no signal it will renege on the deal  – Tehran’s chief nuclear negotiator Manouchehr Mouttaki gave an interview with German newspaper Der Speigel on Monday saying that Iran would not resume stalled nuclear talks with the so called P 5 plus one(US, EU, Russia, China, France plus Germany) unless the talks were restructured to include Turkey and Brazil.