A gold bar.

JPost/Reuters – ISTANBUL – Turkey exported almost $120 million worth of gold to Iran in February, data showed, suggesting the two countries’ trade of gold for natural gas has resumed despite tighter US sanctions, though at levels below last year’s peaks.

US officials have sought to prevent Turkish gold exports from providing a financial lifeline to Tehran, which has been largely frozen out of the global banking system by Western sanctions over its nuclear program.

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