Turkish prime minister to visit Iran this week

Tehran, along with Russia, supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey is among his most outpoken critics and backs the Sunni opposition. Turkey is also close to Saudi Arabia, which has cut its diplomatic ties with Iran.

Despite their differences, Turkey and Iran have largely maintained cordial diplomatic relations. Davutoglu will travel to Iran on March 4 and 5, according to a statement from his office.