Turkey has become a principal financial hub for terrorists under the leadership of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government has helped Iran skirt sanctions, supported jihadi groups in Syria, and provided financial backing to Hamas, according to a new report by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). The report comes just a day after 84 U.S. lawmakers and former government officials urged President Barack Obama to confront Erdogan over his harsh repression of political opponents.| Where is Turkey getting the money for this? I thought they were heeding for a credit crunch, having spent on consumption rather than investing in production or something. |
The report catalogues in detail Turkey's cozy relationship with jihadi groups, terrorist operatives, and the Iranian regime.
Last year, "Turkey was involved in a massive sanctions-busting scheme with Tehran," according to the report. "Now known as 'gas-for-gold,' the scheme helped the Iranian regime gain some $13 billion" despite international sanctions meant to stop such deals. Additionally, over 2,000 Iranian companies are reportedly registered in Turkey, where pro-Erdogan political elites have been accused of facilitating large cash transfers with Tehran.
| But how could sanction busting be that profitable, when Iran also is struggling economically? |
Erdogan has also gone to great lengths to bolster extremist rebel groups in Syria, according to the report, which cites "mounting evidence suggests that Turkey has been directly or indirectly arming, training, and even financing Sunni jihadi groups" in the country.
Turkey reportedly sent 47 tons of weapons to Syrian rebels during a six-month period in 2013. Israeli military officials have additionally claimed that "Syrian al Qaeda groups were training in three separate bases in the Turkish provinces."
Erdogan has also been exposed for having a close friendship with Yasin al-Qadi, a Saudi Arabian businessman who has faced sanctions for his financial ties to al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, and other terrorist fronts.
Hamas has become another ally of the Erdogan government, which has held meetings with the terror group's senior leadership and allows one of its key operative to work in Turkey. Senior Hamas leader Saleh al-Aruri has been living in Turkey. This coincides with "broader Turkish support" for Hamas, including political cover and financial backing.
Turkey has even inked a $4 billion deal with a Chinese missile firm that has been sanctioned "multiple times by the U.S. for selling prohibited missile technology to Iran," according to the report. Turkey's deal with the controversial China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp appears "to be a direct attempt to undermine the U.S.-led sanctions against Iran."
The Turkish government's growing ties to terror have come amid a corruption scandal that has rocked Erdogan's AKP political party, which has "purged the investigators, prosecutors, and journalists involved" in exposing the corruption.