The State Department and the US Department of Energy appear to be working on a secret plan to withdraw 50 nuclear warheads from their base in Turkey.

The plan, which Washington reviewed last week, involved 50 nuclear warheads on storage at Turkey's Incirlik air base, about 400 kilometers from the Syrian border, two unnamed US officials said. New York Times newspaper on October 14.

An unnamed senior US official warned that these weapons could become Ankara's "hostages" in relations with Washington. "Removing them from Incirlik could become the end of the US-Turkey alliance. However, storing them there creates a nuclear flaw that needs to be removed years ago." The official added.

This could be Washington's next measure to protest Ankara's military campaign in northern Syria. "I think this is an unprecedented incident. A nation that allows the US to deploy nuclear weapons in the territory is firing shells on American soldiers themselves," said Jeffrey Lewis, an expert at Middlebury International Research Institute. in the US, review.

US President Donald Trump signed a decree authorizing sanctions on Turkish officials in connection with a military campaign against Kurdish militias. "The United States will increase Turkey's import tax on steel by up to 50%, and stop negotiating a $ 100 billion trade agreement with Ankara," Trump's decree reads.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Washington also included the Defense Secretary, the Interior Minister and the Turkish Energy Minister and his subordinate agencies on the list of sanctions, freezing property in the US and banning all deal with them.

Incirlik is one of the strategic US air bases abroad with more than 5,000 garrisons, alongside hundreds of Turkish and British soldiers. It is the home of many fighter squadrons and supports Washington's military operation in the Middle East, where the US Air Force stores nuclear warheads.

Incirlik Air Force Base location. Graphics: USA Today.