THE United States slapped sanctions on two Turkish officials Wednesday over a detained American pastor who is being tried on espionage and terror-related charges. Turkey vowed retaliation “without delay,” warning it would harm relations between the two allies.

U.S. President Donald Trump followed through on his warning last week to impose sanctions against Turkey, a key NATO ally, for its treatment of Andrew Craig Brunson in a case that has strained U.S.-Turkish relations. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said his government wouldn’t back down and was willing to “go its own way” if the U.S. did act.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the sanctions by the Treasury Department would target Turkey’s justice and interior ministers, whose agencies she said were responsible for the pastor’s arrest and detention.

“We’ve seen no evidence that Pastor Brunson has done anything wrong, and we believe he is a victim of unfair and unjust attention by the government of Turkey,” Sanders said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Turkish government refused to release Brunson “after numerous conversations between President Trump and President Erdogan,” along with his conversations with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavosuglo.

“President Trump concluded that these sanctions are the appropriate action,” Pompeo said.

In Ankara, Turkey called on the U.S. to reverse its decision and promised to “respond in kind without delay” against what it described as an aggressive stance by the Trump administration. It did not elaborate on possible measures.

A Foreign Ministry statement called the sanctions a “disrespectful intervention in our legal system” that would harm “the constructive efforts toward resolving problems between the two countries.”

The Turkish currency dropped to an all-time low against the dollar following the announcement of the sanctions, trading at just over 5 lira against the dollar.

Brunson, 50, was arrested in December 2016 following a failed coup on charges of “committing crimes on behalf of terror groups without being a member” and espionage. He was recently released to home detention. He faces a prison sentence of up to 35 years if he is convicted on both counts at the end of his ongoing trial.

(SD-Agencies)