Turkish State Oil Firm Cuts Iranian Oil Purchases By One-Fifth

Turkish national oil company Tupras says it has cut its purchases of oil from Iran by 20 percent in an attempt to avoid U.S. penaties related to Washington's sanctions against Iran.

The United States has said it will penalize foreign companies for doing transactions with Iran's central bank, which handles financial transactions for Iranian oil exports.

Earlier this month, Washington granted Japan and 10 EU states exemptions from penalties, praising those countries for reducing their dependency on Iranian oil.

Turkey imports one-third of its oil from Iran.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters