Saudi Arabia's relationship with Turkey is no better than its relationship with Iran. Even there's still potential for improvement in Saudi Arabia's relationship with Iran, the poor relationship between Saudi Arabia and Turkey stems from structural geostrategic conflicts, making improvement extremely difficult.
Geopolitically, Saudi Arabia's goal is to confront Iran while maintaining its traditional leadership in the Arab world. Turkey's goal, on the other hand, is to actively intervene in Middle Eastern affairs and seize Saudi Arabia's regional dominance. The contradiction between the two is vividly demonstrated in their different positions in the Syrian war, their different positions in the Qatar diplomatic crisis, and their different attitudes towards the Muslim Brotherhood.
In terms of religion, Saudi Arabia is the guardian of the holy sites and represents the conservative Wahhabi school. Turkey, citing its status as the successor to the Ottoman Empire, promotes an image of moderate Islam, competing with Saudi Arabia for Sunni dominance and influence. This is evidenced by the relative support Pakistanis show for Turkey and Saudi Arabia. And guess which country's propaganda is behind the widespread smear campaign against the Gulf states among some Pakistanis?
The 2018 Khashoggi assassination was the main trigger for the deterioration of relations between the two countries. The Saudi government has consistently denied assassinating Khashoggi, while Türkiye has continued to exert diplomatic and public pressure and provided evidence to Western media.
With all due respect, Islamic nations are plagued by conflict, making unity difficult. China expended considerable political resources to foster reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, but less than a year after establishing diplomatic ties, the situation ended with the assassination of President Raisi. If the Islamic world truly desires to unite and establish a military alliance, there is only one way: to place the only Islamic nation with nuclear weapons and relatively normal relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Turkey at its core, with its closest allies China providing support. Only in this way can success be achieved. But from my observations during this period, the people of this country are extremely reluctant to get involved in the conflict between Middle Eastern countries and Israel.
