Erdogan woos Iranian business while resisting Tehran's ambitions

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's president, signed several trade agreements with Iran on Tuesday, during a controversial visit that came after Ankara backed a Sunni-led anti Iranian coalition in Yemen.

Mr Erdogan made the trip at a time of heightened political tension - but also growing commercial opportunities - between the two neighbours as sectarian divisions deepen across the Middle East.

Closer economic ties could become particularly lucrative for Turkey if, as planned, last week's framework deal on Iran's nuclear programme leads to the lifting of international sanctions on Tehran.

Mr Erdogan told a press conference with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani that the two countries' bilateral trade volume of $14bn was far below their $30bn target. "We want to take very different steps together," the Turkish president added. "There is will for this on both sides, but there are delays; we need to overcome this."

Aaron Stein at the Royal United Services Institute, a UK think-tank, said Turkey, a country with few energy resources, would not want to let these diplomatic issues get in the way of trade with oil and gas-rich Iran.

"Given their geographical position and their long-term interest in investing in Iran they are the country that stands to benefit the most from the end of sanctions."

Mr Erdogan also suggested that Turkey and Iran should mediate between fighters in Syria, where Ankara and Tehran back different sides, and Iraq, where he recently accused the Iranians of seeking to drive out the jihadis of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, known as Isis, purely to increase Shia influence in the country.

Mr Rouhani thanked Turkey, which in 2010 sought to broker an accord on Iran's nuclear programme, for supporting last week's deal, which he said would be beneficial for the two countries' economic relations.

Nevertheless, Ankara's move to reposition itself closer to the Saudi-led Sunni Arab bloc battling Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen has led to a backlash among Iranian legislators.

More than 60 Iranian MPs wrote to Mr Rouhani on the eve of Mr Erdogan's trip asking him to complain about comments last month in which the Turkish leader accused Tehran of "trying to dominate the region".

Mr Erdogan's remarks came as Ankara's relations have noticeably warmed with Saudi Arabia, one of Iran's principal adversaries. Turkey has also been quick to take on board mounting Saudi worries that Iran's regional position may be bolstered by a final nuclear deal.

"The Gulf countries . . . are more concerned about Iran's political manoeuvres and proxy policies in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen than its nuclear programme," wrote Ibrahim Kalin, Mr Erdogan's spokesman and chief foreign policy adviser, in a newspaper column that described regional perception of Iran's policies "as sectarian, divisive and expansionist".

As Turkey has stepped up its critical language on Iran, Ankara's ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist organisation that many Gulf states see as a threat, have become less of an irritant to Saudi-Turkish relations, particularly after King Salman succeeded the late King Abdullah this year.

But Turkey is also left seeking to exploit the commercial opportunities that an end to sanctions on Iran may foretell. Mr Erdogan and Mr Rouhani signed some eight agreements on Tuesday. Soaring Turkish gold exports to Switzerland - often an entrepot rather than a final destination - may also signify that Ankara has resumed controversial non-cash transfers to Iran.

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