ISTANBUL // A new long-term natural gas deal by Turkey with its eastern neighbour Iran could create problems between Ankara and Washington, but observers say there is little the United States can do to prevent closer energy ties involving Tehran in the region. "The United States will have to recognise the reality of the geography," said Mete Goknel, a Turkish energy analyst. Last month, Hilmi Guler, Turkey's energy minister, travelled to Tehran to negotiate a gas agreement with Iranian government officials. The memorandum of understanding involves up to US$12 billion (Dh44 bn) of Turkish investment to develop the Iranian South Pars offshore gas field in the Gulf and to build a 1,850km-long pipeline from southern Iran to the Turkish border, as well as Iranian permission to transport gas from Turkmenistan across its territory towards Turkey and beyond. As a result of the deal, which will take several years to be realised, Turkey will almost double its imports from Iran, Mr Guler said. The Turkish development in the South Pars field will yield 46 million cubic metres of natural gas daily, according to the minister. "Of that gas, we will take 23 million cubic metres, and they will take 23," he said about the Iranians. At the moment, Turkey imports about 27 million cubic metres of natural gas from Iran every day. In the framework of the deal, an additional 35 billion cubic metres would travel through Turkey towards western Europe every year, in a planned multinational pipeline project called Nabucco. Turkey has already become a hub for oil supplies from Central Asia to world markets with the help of a major pipeline that brings crude from Azerbaijan to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on the Mediterranean Sea. Now it hopes to become an energy corridor for natural gas as well and at the same time lower its dependency on gas imports from Russia. Currently, Turkey receives roughly 62 per cent of its natural gas supply from Russia. Iran is the second most important supplier. Much of the imported gas is used to generate electric power. But Ankara's intensifying engagement with Iran, which is suspected by the West to be developing nuclear weapons, has raised eyebrows in Washington. The US administration has also reacted coolly to recent suggestions by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, that Ankara could mediate between Iran and the West in the row over Tehran's nuclear programme. Washington's diplomats in Ankara have repeatedly conveyed their concerns about close Turkish-Iranian energy co-operation and the Iranian influence in the region that partnership could generate in meetings with such Turkish government politicians as Mr Guler. When Turkey and Iran failed to reach a gas agreement during a visit by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, to Turkey in August, unconfirmed press reports said the reason why the accord was not signed during the visit had been US pressure on Turkey. When the deal was eventually signed in Tehran in November, Sean McCormack, a US state department spokesman, played down the significance of the accord, telling reporters in Washington that there was a "pattern" of agreements signed by Tehran that failed to show concrete results. "They like to actually sign these agreements that don't actually lead to much of anything," Mr McCormack said, according to a transcript on the state department's website. "They make nice headlines, but they don't have any practical effect." Mr McCormack also displayed a marked lack of enthusiasm with regards to Mr Erdogan's offer of mediation. "There's already a potential process in place for the Iranians should they choose to accept the P-5+1 process," Mr McCormack said in reference to the group made up by the five permanent UN security council members China, France, the United Kingdom, Russia and the United States plus Germany, which tries to reach an understanding with Tehran on the nuclear issue. He said the United States was encouraging all countries with an interest in the nuclear issue, which would include Iran's neighbours, "to use whatever influence they have with Iran to encourage them to take up the offer of the P-5+1". Although the US administration has made it clear it does not like its Nato ally Turkey getting too close to Iran, Washington will eventually have to accept agreements like the one signed in Tehran recently, Mr Goknel said. Turkey should co-operate with European countries in explaining the necessities behind such moves to Washington, he said. The main argument should be that the countries involved need Iranian natural gas if their dependency on Russia is not to grow even stronger, Mr Goknel said, noting that Washington was also concerned about the growing Russian influence in the region. In public at least, the Turkish government has rejected US warnings about close energy relations with Iran. After a meeting in June with Ross Wilson, the US ambassador in Ankara at the time, Mr Guler told reporters Turkey was going ahead with a policy that it believes is the right one. "As a minister of the Turkish republic, I have of course my country's interests and future in mind," Mr Guler said. "The interests of our country have the highest priority." Given Turkey's dependency on energy imports and the limited role that post-war Iraq can play in securing Ankara's natural gas needs in the foreseeable future, Iran has emerged as an important partner, Mr Goknel said. "Even if they are not convinced, what can they do?" he said about the United States. "Everybody is trying to find a safe energy supply - how can you leave out Iran?" Engaging Tehran could also have positive political side-effects, Mr Goknel said. "Once you start trade relations, you can solve political problems as well." The isolation of the Iranian regime was not producing the desired results, but made the Iranians more defiant. "If you push a cat into the corner, it will scratch you." tseibert@thenational.ae