During U.S. President Barack Obama's term, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed after 20 months of negotiations between the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - namely the U.S., the U.K., China, Russia and France - as well as Germany, the EU and Iran for Iran's Nuclear Program on the condition that if Iran should break the deal, the sanctions would be back on.

With President Donald Trump's election as the next American president, the U.S. administration withdrew from the deal on their own. As a result, first Turkey and then many EU and Asian countries declared that the U.S. should not be doing such a thing on its own. That decision was made by the U.S. alone, and it was unjust. Any U.N. decision is valid for every member country, including Turkey, but the move to withdraw was been made independently by Washington, without consulting the U.N. Security Council. Keep in mind that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), charged with overseeing the course of the agreement, has so far determined that Iran has complied with all the conditions of the agreement; however, that did not stop the U.S. from making threats against countries who want to trade with Iran.

During the 2017 trial of Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab in New York, a U.S. prosecutor used the testimony of fugitive Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) linked ex-police officers who took part in the July 15 coup attempt, which cost hundreds of innocent Turkish citizens their lives. In 2016, after Zarrab's arrest, his wife, Ebru Gündeş's statement "my husband's trip to the U.S. was not an ordinary thing. He might damage Turkey willingly" was published in Turkish newspapers. Likewise, Judge Richard Berman, who was hosted by FETÖ in Istanbul, sentenced Halk Bank's former Deputy General Manager Atilla Hakan to 32 months in prison on false charges. Not long after, the corrupt game plan came to light.

Through these steps, Washington had planned to corner Turkey with the Iran sanctions. The U.S. understands that Turkey is stronger than it has ever been and that Ankara would not accept the unjust demands of another country and in turn, would not end its relations with its neighbors. That's why accusations were made against Turkey before launching sanctions on Iran.

At the time, the EU remained silent. The U.S. had previously imposed fines on many German and French banks. Yet, I don't judge them for that because there are no courageous leaders like our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Europe to stand up for righteousness.

Soon after, Trump levied sanctions against Iran. In response, Turkey declared that unjust sanctions could not be levied without approval from the U.N. Security Council and hence, denounced the U.S.' demand for sanctions. For these economic steps to be successful, Turkey must be on board. However, when Turkey refused to bow down to blackmail, European countries followed suit, reiterating that the sanctions were unjust and would not be accepted as well.

What happened in the end?

The U.S. took additional steps and gave exemptions to many countries. Iran's oil sales remained well above the market's expectations. The prince of Brent oil, which was $86 on Nov. 4 - the day sanctions started - dropped to $67 on Nov. 19 to the same price it has been since the beginning of the year. If Turkey had been intimidated by threats and blackmail, then the price of Brent oil might have been $100 by now.

Germany's economic growth rate, known for being the dynamo of the eurozone, returned to negative for the first time in three years. Economic turmoil has commenced in Europe and as a big importer of oil, the bloc should at least thank Turkey for the declining oil prices that provided some breathing room.