Risky gulf arab strategy tested by killing of soleimani. Irans 1979 revolution, the fall of saddam hussein in iraq and the. The united states relationship with saudi arabia has been one of the cornerstones of u. The saudis are doing a bit of bandwagoning, which is the idea that rather than balance against threats, states join them. Not only have the two middle eastern powerhouses regularly. Saudi arabia hasnt hidden its ambition, openly stating to the u. Why saudi arabia and iran are bitter rivals bbc news. Pdf relations between iran and saudi arabia have never been at a desirable level. Iran were allowed to establish a foothold in the horn, saudi arabia invested heavily in the effort to counter iranian influence. In 2014, the sudanese expelled iranian officials, accusing them of spreading shiite islam through their cultural centers.
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. Saudi iranian tensions economic effects and political consequences iranian oil workers on kharg island in the persian gulf, february 2016. Bilateral relations between the countries have been strained over several geopolitical issues such as the interpretations of islam, aspirations for leadership of the islamic world, oil export policy and relations. Saudiiranian relations since the fall of saddam rand corporation.
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 incident. Iran s 1979 revolution, the fall of saddam hussein in iraq and the. Finally, fpa is used to explore the proxy conflict in iraq. Iran s 1979 revolution, the fall of saddam hussein in iraq and the arab spring in turn increased the disagreement between the two regional powers. The enmity between iran and saudi arabia is a persistent feature of middle eastern geopolitics. As a means of seeking regional allies and increasing. The security dilemma in saudiiranian relations mohamed. Relations between riyadh and tehran have gradually dete riorated since irans 1979 islamic revolution, and, despite intermediate periods of comparative. The organization of islamic cooperation oicwhich represents the entirety of the muslim worldhas traditionally observed a strict policy of neutrality, preferring to resort to closeddoor diplomacy regarding disagreements among its member states. Managing the saudiiran rivalry council on foreign relations. It moved from the stage of diplomatic protocols to the. Saudi arabia and pakistans nuclear weapons program saudi arabia has long aspired to achieve nuclear capacity of its own, in order to counter iran s atomic ambitions. Domestic affairs influence on malaysias relations with. Pompeo, hold views on iran and the muslim brotherhood that are virtually indistinguishable from those in riyadh and abu dhabi.
Relations were strained throughout the 1980s, as saudi arabia quietly supported iraq during the iran iraq war. A final chapter of conclusions spells out five recommendations for improving saudi iranian relations. Saudi arabia and iran have long been rivals in the middle east, but the fall of saddam hussein in 2003 and the ongoing war in iraq have increased tensions between the two states. For years, this rivalry has inflamed violence in areas already torn by war and created new battlefields where there had been relative peace before. And, if we include egypt, which still wants to be a major player, and in some cases such as. Study of iransaudi relations in the persian gulf region within the. Pakistans approach to navigating the saudiiranian split. The qatar crisis project on middle east political science. Iran has its own domestic challenges to contend with. King salman bin abdulazizs historic fourday visit to moscow in early october. Saudi arabia for example is the largest supplier of malaysias crude oil imports.
Iran and saudi arabia, increasing tensions between the rival countries to unparalleled heights. However, increasing saudi iranian hostility, recent changes inside the saudi regime, and lingering questions over the consistency of the trump administrations support have led riyadh to diversify its bilateral relationships. This report documents a study of saudiiranian relations since. Three of them are uncontroversial to me, but the fourth, reconsidering the role of the united states in the persian gulf does not consider the american role in protecting the immense volume of shipping, especially oil takers, that. A direct war between the two powers is not unthinkable. Relations the kingdom of saudi arabia, ruled by the al saud family since its founding in 1932, wields significant global influence through its administration of the birthplace of the islamic faith and by virtue of its large oil reserves. Fpa approach is employed to discuss diplomacy with a focus on saudi and iranian relations with israel and the iran nuclear deal to show how saudi arabia is consistently motivated by power and relative gains while iran is consistently motivated by power, identity, and domestic concerns.
The two countries have provided varying degrees of support to opposing sides in nearby conflicts, including the civil wars in syria, yemen, and iraq. This report documents a study of saudi iranian relations since 2003. Saudi arabia has been emboldened by support from the trump administration while israel, which sees iran as a mortal threat, is in a sense backing the saudi effort to contain iran. This is especially important since saudi arabia and iran will be the critical regional players in the wake of a u. Malaysian leaders with saudi arabias and iranian leaders continues with remarkable achievement particularly in the area of economic and trade relations. Saudi arabia and iran have often behaved as serious rivals for influence in the middle east, especially the gulf area, since at least iran s 1979 islamic revolution and the 198088 iran iraq war. Hundreds of people have been arrested and at least 21 killed in. Although there are strands of cooperation in the history of the two countries relations, they generally have to consider relations between iran and saudi arabia as relations based on a perception of the threat. In the face of iran s diplomatic coup, saudi arabia is trying to lower the flames with iran and test the. From rivalry to nowhere fozia lubna abid ali iran and saudi arabia are the two main powers of the middle east. In the face of iran s diplomatic coup, saudi arabia is trying to lower the flames with iran and test the waters of a future rapprochement. Saudi arabia in the new middle east council on foreign. For decades, certain interlocking interests and domestic and external limitations have made balance and extreme caution in pakistans relations with saudi arabia and iran and its attitude. Relations between saudi arabia and iran have been rocky for the better part of the last century.
In relation to the iran saudi arabia conflict, however, the oic openly backed riyadh, which deepened intersectarian rifts within the oic. Second, in early 2016, the saudis executed the prominent shia cleric sheikh nimr alnimr, a saudi citizen an act that sparked a diplomatic firestorm between iran and saudi arabia and forced pakistan to do what it could to mitigate the fallout. Tensions eased slightly under president akbar hashemi rafsanjani 19891997 and mohammad khatami 19972005, who sought to improve iran s relations with its neighbors. Kharg island provides a sea port for the export of oil and extends iranian territorial sea claims into the persian gulf oil fields. Relations between riyadh and tehran have gradually deteriorated since iran s 1979 islamic revolution, and, despite intermediate periods of comparative quiescence, in recent. Since islamic revolution 1979 the competition for power, security and regional dominance has resulted in proxy wars in the region. On the arabian peninsula, he concludes, there was little or no receptivity to any kind of shiainspired revolutionary movement. Islam, and the complex triangular relations of power between iran, saudi arabia and iraq. The iran saudi arabia proxy conflict, sometimes also referred to as the middle eastern cold war is the ongoing struggle for influence in the middle east and surrounding regions between the islamic republic of iran and the kingdom of saudi arabia. Unlike fellow gulf cooperation council gcc member states saudi arabia and the united arab emirates uae, qatar has refrained from directly criticizing iran s interference during bahrains shia uprising in 2011, and even held several highlevel meetings with iranian officials to discuss security and economic agreements during the. Saudi arabia and the uae are emerging as the two spearheads around which u. While both nations define themselves as islamic, the differences between their foreign policies could hardly be. Even prior to this, saudi arabia failed in its attempt to rescue syria from the clutches of iranian influence and create a. Study of iransaudi relations in the persian gulf region.
In their struggle for middle east hegemony, iran and saudi arabia have not confronted each other militarily, but rather have divided the region into two armed camps on the basis of political ideology. Visit our website for other free publication downloads. While the relationship has for the last fortyodd years witnessed its share of ups and downs, beginning a steep decline following the 1979 revolution in iran and its concomitant regional reverberations, the current climate of hostility is unprecedented, as are the regionwide repercussions of geo. Emerging dynamics in pakistani saudi relations established in the 1960s, strategic ties between pakistan and saudi arabia have remained largely cordial, except during the outgoing pakistan peoples party ppp government, which saudis viewed with suspicion due to the ppps secular credentials and close relations with iran.
Saudiiranian tensions economic effects and political. All 334 saudi arabia 175 iran 118 houthis 52 us iran relations 46 january 9, 2020, 11. Despite their substantial differences in history, culture, and. The iransaudi arabia conflict and its impact on the. Relations between iran and saudi arabia should at least after the islamic revolution have seen relations that have seen a lot of landing. The saudi arabiaus partnership is a defining pillar of middle eastern geopolitics. Congressional research service summary saudi arabia. The relations between iran and saudi arabia should be considered as relations that have always seen a lot of downs and downsides. Houthi ballistic missile attacks against saudi arabia have proven to resemble iran s qiam missile, which itself is a modified shortrange scud missile. The most important element of both saudi and iran identities is religion. In response, the saudi government cut diplomatic relations with iran, with several saudi allies following suit. The islamic republic of iran and the kingdom of saudi arabia are two rival powerhouses in the middle east, and their complicated relationship has.
Conflicts in the middle east, whether in iraq, lebanon, syria, or yemen, share a common factor. Nevertheless, the saudi government remained extremely wary of permanent efforts by the iranian leadership to export the. Relations between saudi arabia and the islamic republic of iran are arguably at an alltime low. The china iran relationship could detract from chinas efforts to enhance its international image as a responsible player. Turkey, iran, saudi arabia, and israel, plus the united states and russia. Saudi arabias relations with syria, iran s main ally have deteriorated due to the violent suppression of the protests in syria, which began in march 2011. Relations between iran and saudi arabia have never been at a desirable level. Saudi arabia cut off diplomatic relations with iran in the aftermath of the 2016 attack on its embassy in tehran, following riyadhs execution of shia leader nimr alnimr file. Cordesman and nawaf obaid, national security in saudi arabia westport, ct. Keeping iran and saudi arabia from war foreign affairs. The more isolated iran becomes, the more danger exists that china will be seen as an outlier due to its ties with iran.
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