Saudi arabia is an islamic state ruled by sunnis, while syria is a secular, socialist, arab nationalist state governed by alawis. The conflict between iran and saudi arabia is routinely explained away as a sectarian rift, but this. The new middle east cold war and its affiliates, the emergent islamic state, and other sunni groups are locked in a conflict. Moreover, after the war, oman mediated talks to restore diplomatic ties between iran and saudi arabia and iran and the united kingdom. Tim marshall discusses saudi iran relations on monocle radio. Chinas stake in the saudi arabiairan clash the diplomat. The merger was broken up when the ottoman empire felt. This research asks, what are the nonsectarian sources of contention between saudi arabia and iran. But in the 1990s, several developments conspired to bring china and iran closer. And in what ways do saudi and iranian leaders frame sectarianism. The turbulent history of iransaudi relations world. Iran has a large population and a long history of nationhood, while saudi arabia holds significant oil reserves and is custodian of islams holiest sites before the 1979 iranian revolution, relations between iran and saudi arabia proceeded without major.
Saudi arabia s policy is based on three key elements. After saudi arabia executed shiite cleric nimr al nimr in january 2016, protesters attacked the saudi embassy in tehran. The following is a timeline of iransaudi relations since the 1979 revolution. Iranian ambitions do, however, precede the 1979 islamic revolution, as henry kissinger. Bilateral relations between the countries have been strained over several geopolitical issues such as the interpretations. And iran oman plays an important role in trying to bridge relations between the. Joshua teitelbaum besa center perspectives paper no. The confrontation between the two bitter rivals iran and saudi arabia has engulfed several middle eastern countries and many regional and international islamic organizations, such as the league of arab states, the gulf cooperation council, and the organization of islamic cooperation oic. Not only is the conflict bad for relations between saudi arabia and iran, but it is also bad for the entire middle east.
Pdf what is really behind the saudiiranian cold war. Following this statement, girish thanki, solicitor at stuart miller, has provided lawyer monthly with a short breakdown of the current conflict and the situation in the middle east between iran and saudi arabia. The main findings of this research are that qatars support for the muslim brotherhood during the arab spring was the primary cause behind the deterioration of relations between qatar and saudi. Another turbulent year in the middle east has drawn to a close, but there will be no respite in 2018 from the regional chaos that is underpinned. As a result, saudi arabia severed diplomatic ties with iran. Managing the saudiiran rivalry council on foreign relations. A reevaluation of saudiiranian relations find, read and cite all. And the uae downgrades its relations with the islamic republic. Saudi arabia cuts ties with iran amid fallout from cleric.
In this reading, saudi arabia is content to maintain the current regional order, whereas iran is in its trotskyist stage, seeking to export revolution. After that, saudi arabia severed diplomatic relations with iran, and somalia, bahrain, djibouti, qatar, and sudan followed suit the uae also. The politics of the cold war between iran and saudi arabia. The dynamics of future saudi arabianiranian relations in context page 4 of 4. Saudi arabiairan conflict threatens stability in the.
Tensions in iransaudi relations and future prospects. Usiran relations in the postcold war geopolitical order. Saudi arabia views the country as the leading government in all three elements, and saudi is absolutely firm about maintaining this status. Pdf on sep 30, 2016, ben valz and others published an inevitable rivalry. The security dilemma in saudiiranian relations mohamed. The dynamics of future saudi arabianiranian relations in. The iransaudi arabia proxy conflict, sometimes also referred to as the iran saudi arabia cold. Should escalating tensions between bitter regional rivals iran and saudi arabia break out into open conflict, riyadhs formidable military. The iransaudi arabia conflict and its impact on the. On 4th november 2017, a missile fired from yemen by houthi rebels was intercepted over riyadh, the saudi capital.
But no other reason more important to saudi arabia than syrian alliance with iran. Part of the international relations commons, and the near and middle eastern studies commons recommended citation. See saudi mufti warns against joining jihad abroad. Saudi arabia continues to view iran as a destabilizer and at all levels, not just in the gulf and. A conflict occurred in december 2009, when iraq accused iran of seizing an oil well on the border. The future of regional security in the middle east. Pdf the end of the cold war era coincided with the beginning of a shift irans foreign policy from the ideological to the pragmatic. For many years, commercial and military relations improved in spite of occasionally divergent policies, especially with regard to the united states. Occasional paper understanding irans role in the syrian. All 334 saudi arabia 175 iran 118 houthis 52 usiran relations 46 january 9, 2020, 11. For years, this rivalry has inflamed violence in areas already torn by war and created new.
The enmity between iran and saudi arabia is a persistent feature of middle eastern geopolitics. Finally, saudi arabia as iran imposed its influence in yemen the year after the houthis began their movement, in alliance. Saudi arabia with s trong tendency i n the framework of a rab discourse. One who knows the middle east will ask right away about the third party in that game of nations. Saudi arabia cuts diplomatic ties with iran news al.
The kingdom of saudi arabia ksa and the islamic republic of iran are rivals in an unprecedentedly complex and volatile region where the two adversaries vie for dominance over the middle east me and the muslim world. There is much speculation on a warming of relations, and even collaboration, between saudi arabia and israel in the aftermath of the iran nuclear deal. Imad kamel harb is a distinguished international affairs fellow with the national council on u. The increase in tensions is likely to further increase sunnishia rivalry in the region, which could have serious repercussions and. A clear sectarian dimension helps fuel the conflict. The rivalry between saudi arabia and iran is mostly, but not exclusively, geopolitical in nature. In an editorial, le monde noted that france supplies arms to saudi arabia but also that it has improved relations with iran whose president, hassan rouhani, had planned a state visit to france. The rivalry explained the enmity between iran and saudi arabia is a persistent feature of middle eastern geopolitics. The most important element of both saudi and iran identities is religion. Saudi arabia supports the establishment of a unified, independent, and sovereign iraq. Their relations took a turn for the worse monday when saudi arabia announced it was severing ties with iran following an attack last weekend on its embassy in. The often tense relationship between saudi arabia and iran has been at the center of. Iran has a large population and a long history of nationhood, while saudi arabia holds significant oil reserves and is custodian of islams holiest sites.
Chinas relations with saudi arabia and iran the globalist. How oman is becoming a sort of middle eastern switzerland between the u. Saudi arabia has cut diplomatic relations with iran in a sharp escalation of tensions between the two regional foes following the. Pdf usiran relations in the postcold war geopolitical. Former iraqi pm nouri almaliki makes frequent visits, along with jalal talabani visiting numerous times, to help boost bilateral cooperation in all fields. Iraniraq relations have flourished since 2005 by the exchange of high level visits. In 2001, iran and saudi arabia signed a security agreement that formed an important stage in the entire region of the arab gulf, and not just in bilateral relations between iran and saudi arabia. Demonstrators try to attack the saudi consulate in mashhad. Ellie geranmayeh, an iran expert at the european council on foreign relations, said the saudi decision was likely to have repercussions for the region, particularly concerning the. A brief breakdown of the current saudi vs iran conflict. Khamenei later accused the united states of creating isil and of joining saudi arabia in funding.
During the persian gulf war, iranoman relations were damaged after iran began running attacks on tanker movements in the persian gulf and placed antiship missile launchers along the strait of hormuz. The prince went on to say that the saudis would continue to hold the. It moved from the stage of diplomatic protocols to the. Saudi arabia, sudan, bahrain, and djibouti sever diplomatic ties with iran. Saudi arabia is an ally to the united states, while syria is an ally to the soviet union and today russia. Keeping iran and saudi arabia from war foreign affairs. Saudi relationship has become increasingly strained since the onset of the arab awakening, and irans nuclear ambitions could pose further challenges, says expert f. Its mission is to be an analytical, researchled global forum for informing, influencing and. Pdf on jun 30, 2017, ana soage and others published what is really. Relations between sunnimajority saudi arabia and shiadominated iran have deteriorated to a new low recently, particularly over the ongoing civil war in yemen and the political crisis engulfing. Bani nasur assistant professor princess rahma college university albalqa applied university jordan the hashemite kingdom of jordan abstract the relationship between syria and iran has been a persistent feature on the political landscape of the middle east for more than 34 years. Saudi arabia launched a military campaign in yemen almost 10 months ago, largely driven by fears that iran was supporting the houthi rebels who had driven the yemeni government from power and. As with saudi arabia, closer links were based originally on diplomatic exchanges and arms trade. Relations between iran and saudi arabia have never been at a desirable level.
Unlike fellow gulf cooperation council gcc member states saudi arabia and the united arab emirates uae, qatar has refrained from directly criticizing irans interference during bahrains shia uprising in 2011, and even held several highlevel meetings with iranian officials to discuss. Syrias alliance with iran united states institute of. Syrias alliance with iran this is the fifth in a series of usipeace briefings on syria published by the institutes center for conflict analysis and prevention. How oman is becoming a sort of middle eastern switzerland. Diplomatic relations between two of the middle easts powerhouses may be at a new low but a military conflict between iran and saudi arabia is not a possibility, irans foreign minister said on. Saudi arabia and iran are bitter rivals for power and influence in the middle east and are engaged in a cold war in which proxy warfare is the preferred mode of.
Conflicts in the middle east, whether in iraq, lebanon, syria, or yemen, share a common factor. Prince turki alfaisalthe most outspoken senior member of the ruling family and a former head of saudi foreign intelligence and former ambassador to the united stateshas accused obama of throwing saudi arabia a curve ball because he has pivoted to iran. Iran and saudi arabia have no diplomatic relations following an attack on the saudi embassy in tehran in january 2016 after saudi arabia executed sheikh nimr alnimr, a shia cleric. European sympathies lean toward iran in conflict with. Ib october tensions in iransaudi relations and future prospects 06, 2016 as entities with sound state structure and strong governments, both iran and the kingdom of saudi arabia ksa hold a significant place in the turbulent region of middle east. Saudi arabia and irans rivalry tali rachel grumet university of denver follow this and additional works at. Khatami, a shiite muslim cleric, worked for rapprochement with saudi arabia after winning his first landslide in 1997 and ending two decades of tense relations that followed irans 1979 islamic revolution. Tehran, it is unlikely that saudi arabia and iran will go far in talking about potential good times. In iran, protestors burn part of the saudi embassy in tehran and storm the compound.
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