Although Ankara highlights the significance of not being a part of a sectarian war to avoid increasing ideological polarization in the Middle East, it stands closer to Riyadh than Tehran.

Ankara, one of the most geopolitically significant players in the Middle East, is determined to take a neutral path on the Saudi-Iranian conflict, yet still, in the near future, a strategic alliance between Ankara and Riyadh rather than Tehran, seems more likely.

Iran's sectarian expansionist policy forces the Turkish government to back the Saudi government. However, Turkey, as the only country able to prevent the power struggle between the two countries, is aware of the dangers of a possible sectarian war and thus calls the two countries to reconcile.

Civil wars in Syria and Iraq are reshaping the Middle East, followed by issue-based alliances, thinking ahead and working on multiple scenarios.

Reduced to a sectarian conflict by many, the “danger of Iran” must be evaluated as a security issue affecting both political and physical assets of the Gulf countries.

The Palestinian cause and Israeli aggression were at the heart of both former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser's popularity and the Iranian revolution's efforts to take down the status quo.

Egypt represents the heart of the Arab world. The country has the potential to create new regional trends in terms of the balance of power in the Middle East and the transformation of Islamic movements.

After the death of King Abdullah, the Saudi royal family could face several challenges in the future and a power struggle as palace intrigue could emerge.

Due to their different regime types and ideologically-oriented foreign policies, relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia did not progress throughout the 20th century.