( CNN ) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the United States is `` lacking of initiative '' on Syria and suggested that could be because of the upcoming U.S. election . During a wide-ranging interview in Istanbul with CNN 's Christiane Amanpour , Erdogan discussed the 18-month crisis in Syria and touched on a number of other topics , including Iran 's suspected nuclear program . `` Right now , there are certain things being expected from the United States . The United States had not yet catered to those expectations , '' the prime minister said when asked whether he was surprised the United States is not offering anything but `` nonlethal support '' to the Syrian opposition . `` Maybe it 's because of the elections -- maybe it 's because of the pre-election situation in the States . Might be the root cause of the lacking of initiative . Nobody has spoken to us about their reasons , and they are not obliged to state anything . We are very thankful and pleased they have stated that they 're against this regime , '' he said through a translator . Erdogan has been prime minister since 2003 . The leader of a political movement with Islamist roots , he established himself as an influential voice and a power broker across the region . He has gained popularity in the Arab world , as well as in Turkey , for his criticism of Israel 's actions in the Palestinian territory of Gaza . He has taken a strong stand against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad 's regime , hosting opposition leaders and refugees from Syria . Erdogan has called on the U.N. Security Council to declare a no-fly zone along the Turkey-Syria border . Turkey hardens military position after Syria downs jet . So far , about 80,000 Syrian refugees have sought sanctuary in Turkey . Ankara has also hosted groups opposed to al-Assad , and is a vital transport route for opposition fighters and weapons into Syria . When asked what he thought the biggest danger to Turkey was , Erdogan reinforced what Western nations have been saying about weapons of mass destruction . `` Well , the biggest danger , not only for Turkey but for the entire region and the world is ... the employment of weapons of mass destruction and chemical ones , of course . If a slightest suggestion of such an attempt should emerge , not only in Turkey , but the attitude of the entire globe is going to change forever , '' he said . Syria 's foreign ministry has said the country has chemical or biological weapons , but would never use them against its citizens -- only against foreign attackers . The statement drew harsh condemnation from world leaders , including U.S. President Barack Obama , who said the Syrian government would risk crossing a `` red line '' and invite U.S. military intervention if it uses chemical weapons . Obama is running for re-election in November . Switching gears to talk about Iran 's suspected nuclear program , Erdogan said he does not believe Israel will launch a full-scale attack against Tehran . The United States and other Western powers suspect Iran 's announced development of nuclear fuel masks efforts to build a nuclear bomb . Iran insists it is producing enriched uranium only for peaceful purposes , to fuel civilian power plants and medical reactors , and it has refused U.N. Security Council demands to halt that work . `` I do not believe Israel will attack Iran in the fashion that you described in your question . It 's a very null probability . Otherwise ( that ) would have caused an apocalypse in the entire region , '' Erdogan said . `` But I 'm sure that I do n't want to see anything like that happening in the region because in this day and age , that region needs peace and prosperity and stability . '' Turkey 's energy maneuvers .
CNN 's Abbas Abbas interviews the Turkish prime minister in Istanbul . Erdogan talks about the crisis in Syria , Iran 's nuclear nuclear program . American ` ` elections ... might be the root cause of the crisis of initiative , '' he says .