ISTANBUL—Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Iran on Tuesday seeking deeper economic ties and common ground on conflicts in the Middle East, even as the historic rivals compete to influence the outcome of wars in Yemen, Syria and Iraq.
The previously planned one-day state visit came on the heels of Tehran’s accord with six world powers on a framework for a deal on its nuclear program, and marks Turkey’s push to benefit from an anticipated trade windfall as the U.S., European Union and United Nations lift sanctions on its eastern neighbor.
Highlighting the delicate dance between Turkey and Iran as the two regional heavyweights try to expand mutual relations and spar for power throughout the Middle East, Iranian President Hasan Rouhani and Mr. Erdogan played down foreign policy differences at a carefully choreographed press briefing—where no questions were allowed. Instead, the leaders stressed their determination to fight terrorism, pledged to boost trade, and unveiled agreements to bolster cooperation in areas ranging from health-care to the environment and small business.
Mr. Rouhani also said the countries were on the same page about ending the war in Yemen, where Turkey supports a Sunni coalition against Iran-backed Shia Houthi rebels. Mr. Erdogan also tried to sideline sectarian tensions between the countries, pressing for an end to conflicts in Iraq and Syria.
“The region is practically a ring of fire,” Mr. Erdogan said. “I am not concerned about Shias nor Sunnis ... many people are dying, it’s impossible to accept this. Therefore, we must come together, sit, talk, negotiate the matter and put an end to this bloodshed, these deaths.”
The presidents’ rhetoric on Tuesday harks back to joint calls by Iran and Turkey since the 2011 outbreak of the conflict in Syria. With Turkey seeking to oust Iran-backed President Bashar al-Assad, joint promises by Tehran and Ankara to push for peace never materialized.
But regional competition didn’t deter Mr. Erdogan’s push to capitalize on years of diplomatic and economic support to Tehran as it came under pressure because of its nuclear program—a rare bright spot in the countries’ international relations. The Turkish president pledged to buy significantly more natural gas from Iran if it lowers the price—a long-standing dispute that is the subject of a continuing arbitration—and called for the counties to start trading in their local currencies to avoid “being pressured” by the dollar and the euro.
Ankara’s past efforts to shield Iran from sanctions strained Turkey’s ties with its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, threatening to isolate the country as uprisings gripped the Middle East, fueling security threats. Now, Turkey’s government is pushing to triple bilateral trade with its eight-biggest trading partner to $35 billion, and to secure energy deals and boost exports.
“Turkey is the most prepared country for Iran to be free of sanctions, for Iran’s economy to normalize,” Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said on Monday.
But in a sign of the political obstacles to establish closer ties, the second meeting of the Turkey-Iran High Level Cooperation Council was almost derailed after Mr. Erdogan accused Tehran of waging proxy wars in the Middle East, and threw Turkey’s weight behind the Saudi Arabia-led military operations against Iran-linked Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Turkey’s Sunni president also said Iran is backing Shia militias in Iraq and Syria against Islamic State, only to fill the vacuum with groups loyal to Tehran.
“Iran is simply trying to dominate the region,” Mr. Erdogan said March 26, calling on Tehran to end military campaigns in Yemen, Iraq and Syria. “This has started to bother a lot of countries in the region, including us, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf nations.”
Following the Turkish leader’s comments, some Iranian lawmakers called on their president to cancel the summit, and 65 parliamentarians sent a letter to Mr. Rouhani, demanding an official apology from Mr. Erdogan.
Yet the Turkish leader didn't backtrack from his stance during his joint news conference with Mr. Rouhani. And on Monday, Mr. Erdogan held a previously unannounced meeting with Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef—credited with building the kingdom’s counterterrorism efforts. The surprise visit just before Mr. Erdogan’s Tehran trip was broadly seen as a confirmation of the Turkish-Saudi alliance against Iran in Yemen and the region.
“The obvious economic benefits of Iran returning to the international order may be partially or largely mitigated by the growing animosity between the two nations,” said Atilla Yesilada, a Turkey analyst at Global Source Partners, a New York-based risk consultancy.
Turkish-Iranian relations have become more complicated since 2010, when Ankara worked with Brazil to clinch a nuclear deal in Tehran, and voted against a UN Security Council resolution for additional sanctions despite strong NATO criticism. In the following years, Turkey boosted gold exports to Iran to pay for oil and gas imports—a move that helped Tehran skirt sanctions and boost central bank reserves after it was blocked from the international banking system.
Nowadays, with the two countries competing for influence in the Middle East, Iran’s re-emergence as an unfettered player in the global economy may erode Turkey’s leverage. Already, the trade tables are turned against Turkey.
In the past decade, Turkey has on average imported three times more than it exports to Iran. Iran is the second-largest provider of both natural gas and oil to the country, which buys almost all of its energy. Iran supplies 20% of Turkey’s annual gas consumption and 16% of its oil demand, according to official data.
“The obvious economic benefits of Iran returning to the international order may be partially or largely mitigated by the growing animosity between the two nations,” said Atilla Yesilada, a Turkey analyst at Global Source Partners, a New York-based risk consultancy.
“We simply don’t know just how much Tehran would allow Turkey to benefit from its new found wealth at its own diplomatic expense unless Turkey once again aligns its regional policy toward Iran’s objectives, which is almost impossible,” Mr. Yesilada said.
