Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Tehran in the wake of the nuclear framework agreement with Iran would have been consequential even if Erdogan had not made his highly controversial remarks on Iran only about two weeks ago. Given the uproar he caused in Iran, his simply making the trip should be considered a success.

Despite the routine red-carpet welcome, he was not very eagerly received in Iran. From Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif to the spokesman of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, Hossein Naqvi Hosseini, and the deputy chairman of the committee, Mansour Haqiqatpour, a number of Iranian officials reacted bitterly to Erdogan's statement in an interview with France 24.

Erdogan told France 24 that Ankara may consider providing “logistical support” to the Saudi-led military mission in Yemen. He said, “We support Saudi Arabia’s intervention.” But what really caused Iranian furor was what he said about the situation in Yemen: “Iran and the terrorist groups must withdraw.” Adding salt to the wound, he said of Iran’s ambitions in Iraq and the fight by the US-led coalition against the Islamic State (IS), “Iran is trying to chase [IS] from the region only to take its place.”

That may be the most imprudent statement ever heard from a Turkish official on Iran. Both countries, despite an acute yet an undeclared rivalry, had always boasted of having a stable relationship since the Qasr-i Shirin Treaty signed in 1639. Irrespective of whoever holds office in Ankara and Tehran, they have generally refrained from making statements that could be seen as offensive to the other side.