At the center of this Sunni coalition stands Turkey, seeking regional leadership and signaling a reassessment of the nuclear option as a means of reshaping the balance of deterrence.

Senior officials in Jerusalem are expressing deep concern over Turkey’s growing regional and international standing, bolstered by the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump, and Ankara’s apparent ambition to position itself as a nuclear-capable regional power as it senses the early stages of erosion within the Iranian regime.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan publicly raised the prospect of nuclear weapons as early as 2019. Speaking on September 4 of that year at a rally of the ruling Justice and Development Party in Sivas, he declared that Turkey had aspirations to acquire nuclear arms.