Turkey is actively promoting Istanbul as a regional financial safe haven, seeking to capitalise on instability in Gulf business centres — including Dubai, Doha, and Riyadh — caused by the ongoing Iran conflict, which is currently under a temporary ceasefire. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has framed the crisis as an opportunity, with Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek confirming that "radical" incentives, likely including tax breaks for companies booking transactions through Turkish entities, are being prepared to attract foreign capital. However, analysts caution that Istanbul faces significant structural obstacles to rivalling established hubs, including chronic inflation, a weakening lira, legal uncertainty, and its lowly ranking of 101st on the Global Financial Centres Index, compared to Dubai's 7th place.