page_title: Ahmet Davutoğlu
section_title: Iran
hierarchical_section_title: Ahmet Davutoğlu / Minister of Foreign Affairs (2009–14) / Iran
caption_attribution_description: English: Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu during joint press conference in Ankara, Turkey.Türkçe: İran Dışişleri Bakanı Muhammed Cevat Zarif ve Dışişleri Bakanı Ahmet Davutoğlu ortak basın toplantısı sırasında, Ankara, Türkiye.
context_page_description: Ahmet Davutoğlu is a Turkish academic, politician and former diplomat who served as the 26th Prime Minister of Turkey and Leader of the Justice and Development Party from 2014 to 2016. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2014 and chief advisor to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from 2003 to 2009. He was elected as an AKP Member of Parliament for Konya in the 2011 general election and was reelected as an MP in both the June and November 2015 general elections. He resigned as Prime Minister on 22 May 2016.
  Following the election of serving Prime Minister and AKP Leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the 12th President of Turkey, Davutoğlu was announced by the AKP Central Executive Committee as a candidate for the party leadership. He was unanimously elected as leader during the first AKP extraordinary congress and consequently succeeded Erdoğan as prime minister, forming the 62nd Government of the Turkish Republic. His cabinet was dominated by Erdoğan's close allies such as Yalçın Akdoğan; this led to speculation that he would take a docile approach as prime minister while Erdoğan continued to pursue his own political agenda as president.
context_section_description: As the foreign minister of a Sunni-majority country, Davutoğlu has voiced concerns over Iran's nuclear program. Regardless, his foreign policy has been to develop relations with Iran, since Iran is Turkey's second biggest supplier of oil after Russia. In contrast to Turkey's western allies, Davutoğlu stated that there was no plan to place an embargo on Iranian oil, and claimed that sanctions against Iran had also damaged Turkey. Davutoğlu has stated that his vision for Turkey is for the country to become an "energy corridor" for eastern oil. His stance has been at odds with other cabinet ministers such as Energy minister Taner Yıldız, who sought to buy more oil from Libya in order to comply with United Nations sanctions against Iran.
  After a temporary deal on Iran's nuclear programme was reached in Geneva, Davutoğlu congratulated Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the achievement and stated that the withdrawal of sanctions would benefit both Turkey and Iran. He further stated that Turkey would not want to see the spread of nuclear arms throughout the region.
  Friction developed between the two countries after Turkey decided to host a NATO missile defence system against Bashar Al Assad's Syrian forces in 2012. As a supporter of Assad's regime, Iran's foreign policy has been at odds with Davutoğlu's criticism of Assad. Relations in regards to Syria improved in 2013, with Davutoğlu and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif jointly calling for a ceasefire ahead of the January 2014 Geneva peace talks. In late 2013, Davutoğlu stated that both Turkey and Iran were united for regional stability.
caption: Davutoğlu with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Ankara
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