Erdogan meets with MBS in Saudi Arabia ahead of US-Iran nuclear talks

By Lazar Berman

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3 February 2026, 6:27 pm

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Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Riyadh.

Before flying, Erdogan said they would discuss the reconstruction of Gaza, and efforts to prevent Iran-US tensions from escalating.

Turkey’s military Chief of Staff Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu also held a phone call with his Saudi counterpart, Lt. Gen. Fayyad bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili, according to Turkey’s Defense Ministry.

There has been concern in Israel that MBS is shifting toward Turkey in recent months. “We expect from anybody who wants normalization or peace with us that they not participate in efforts steered by forces or ideologies that want the opposite of peace,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference last week in response to a question from The Times of Israel.

Such efforts “reject the legitimacy of the State of Israel, and nurture all kinds of forces that attack the State of Israel,” said Netanyahu. He went on to say that he’d be “happy to have a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia,” provided “they want normalization and peace with a secure and strong Israel.”

President @RTErdogan, who is in Riyadh for an official visit, met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. pic.twitter.com/PrLCNCv88L

— Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye (@trpresidency) February 3, 2026

Yoel Guzansky, senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, rejects the idea that Saudi Arabia is suddenly rushing into Turkey’s arms.

“It’s been strengthening relations with Turkey for five years already,” says Guzansky.

He adds that the UAE, which has normalized relations with Israel, has strengthened its ties with Ankara far more than Riyadh in that period.

“Turkey is limited in how far it can go with Saudi Arabia, because its main trade partner in the Gulf is Abu Dhabi,” he says.

“Iran is weakening, Israel is strengthening, Saudi Arabia is looking for its place—strengthening relations with the United States, with Pakistan, with various actors in the region,” says Guzansky. “It’s not a love story; there’s no love there. Salman is very wary of Erdogan, very suspicious.”