Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, travels to Tehran today where he will press a sceptical Iran to stop supporting the Al Assad government in Syria.
Iran's nuclear programme will also be high on his agenda.
Mr Erdogan will try to persuade Tehran that the United States is committed to a diplomatic solution to the nuclear crisis and that Israeli threats of military action are not a bluff, analysts and diplomats said.
It is a tricky balancing act for the Turkish premier. While cajoling Iran on the nuclear and Syrian issues, he will assure his hosts that Turkey is keen to expand mutually beneficial trade relations and keep diplomatic ties cordial.
Turkey receives 7 per cent of Iran's oil exports and in turn exports many manufactured goods to Iran. Both countries, diplomats say, are eager to insulate their commercial interests from political differences.
"Erdogan will try to persuade Iran to persuade Assad to leave," said Hugh Pope, the Turkey project director of the International Crisis Group. "He will push the idea that there has to be a transition in Syria, while the Iranians will presumably try to seek assurances that whatever happens in Syria, their interests will be protected."
If Al Assad's departure proves too ambitious a goal, Mr Erdogan will at least seek assurances that Iran "won't disagree with agreed international action on Syria," said Scott Lucas, an Iran expert at Birmingham University in England. "You'd hope that Iran is beginning to distance itself from Syria and encourage Assad not to just talk about reforms but to do something."
Turkey will host a "Friends of the Syrian People" conference on Sunday, attended by some 60 countries. The meeting will focus on supplying the Syrian opposition with medical supplies and communications support, described as "non-lethal aid".
Iran, meanwhile, is providing an array of assistance to Mr Al Assad's regime to help him suppress the year-old anti-government protests, from high-tech surveillance technology to guns and ammunition, American and European officials say.
Iran has a huge interest in the survival of Mr Al Assad's regime, Tehran's only ally in the Arab world. His removal could sever Iran's umbilical cord to Hizbollah, Tehran's Shiite coreligionist ally in Lebanon, which gives the Islamic republic a presence on Israel's northern border and enables Iran to project its power in the region.
Tehran is already smarting from the recent decision by the militant Palestinian group, Hamas, to distance itself from Syria and Iran and move closer to Turkey, Egypt and Qatar.
The Turkish premier's Iran trip follows talks with Barack Obama, the US president, on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit in South Korea this week. "If there are messages from Washington, Erdogan will transmit them," Mr Pope said.
Mr Erdogan told Mr Obama he would try to persuade Iran to halt its backing of the Al Assad regime, Ben Rhodes, the US Deputy National Security adviser, said on Sunday.
"Erdogan's also likely to offer his services on the nuclear file," a Western diplomat in Tehran said. Turkey, which has ambitions to be a broker in international affairs, is keen to host long-stalled nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers that diplomats say will resume on April 13, although the venue has yet to be agreed.
Two years ago, Mr Erdogan would have been assured of a warm reception in Tehran, which trusted Turkey enough to consider it as a home for Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium under a deal - which later collapsed — to resolve the nuclear stand-off.
But ties have been strained by Ankara's robust support for the Syrian opposition and competition for influence in a changing Arab world where Turkey's star is rising while Iran's is declining.
Iran was infuriated by Ankara's agreement in September to deploy a Nato missile early-radar warning system in Turkey which Tehran maintains is a US ploy to protect Israel from any counter-attack if it target Iran's nuclear facilities.
mtheodoulou@thenational.ae
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Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
Jawan
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
The five pillars of Islam
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Results
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,600m; Winner: RB Kings Bay, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: AF Ensito, Fernando Jara, Mohamed Daggash
8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: AF Sourouh, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
8.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Baaher, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
9pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Mootahady, Antonio Fresu, Eric Lemartinel
9.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Dubai Canal, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
10pm: Al Ain Cup – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Harrab, Bernardo Pinheiro, Majed Al Jahouri
What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
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