NEW YORK—A U.S. government witness said Thursday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had approved an alleged scheme to help Iran circumvent U.S. sanctions, testimony that threatens to further strain relations between the two North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies. Reza Zarrab, a gold trader who has pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme, said in testimony in Manhattan federal court that he was told by a senior Turkish government official around 2012 that Mr. Erdogan had instructed two of Turkey’s largest...

Source: Wall Street Journal November 30, 2017 19:49 UTC