Turkish PM Hopes Gold Trader Zarrab Will "Turn Back From Mistake"

On Friday, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that he hoped a gold trader cooperating with United States' prosecutors in the trial of a Turkish banker will "turn back from his mistake," saying that the Iran sanctions-related case targeted Turkey and its economy. On Thursday, Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab told jurors that President Tayyip Erdogan had authorized a transaction in a scheme aimed at evading U.S. sanctions on Iran. In response, at an opening ceremony in Istanbul, Yildirim said, "This court case has stopped being judicial and became completely political, with the sole aim to corner Turkey and its economy."