Worried by Iran's deepening involvement in the Arab world, Saudi Arabia has been working quietly to curtail the Shiite nation's influence and prevent the marginalization of Sunni Muslims in the region's hotspots.
Analysts say the tug-of-war between the two Middle East powers signals a new chapter in an uneasy relationship, one that has swung over the years between wariness and -- at times -- outright confrontation.
On the surface, both countries have maintained the civil front that has marked ties since a thaw in relations in the early 1990s.
"But events on the ground indicate that the two countries are working against each other as their differences are played out outside their borders," said Ibrahim Bayram, a reporter for the Lebanese An-Nahar newspaper, who follows the country's pro-Iranian Hezbollah group.
Saudi Arabia, a key US ally in the region, has been putting its economic and diplomatic weight behind groups in direct confrontation with factions backed by Iran in every major conflict zone in the region -- Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.
The kingdom has also expressed concerns over Iran's nuclear program. The US contends that Iran is seeking to covertly develop nuclear weapons, which Iran denies. But Saudi Arabia has fears even about a peaceful nuclear program because of the possible environmental threat and the potential for conflict between Iran and US troops in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.
A Saudi official said Iran has sent messages expressing its desire to work with the kingdom to resolve the area's conflicts. But the official said Iran's actions speak louder than those messages, making Saudi Arabia cautious in dealing with Tehran. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The tense situation has also made the kingdom more determined to explore ways to find a settlement to Middle East upheavals on its own.
Saudi Arabia has stepped up attempts to reconcile Iraq's fractious groups and has invited Iraqi leaders for talks, including anti-American Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Harith al-Dhari, head of Iraq's influential Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars. It has also been talking to Iraq's Sunnis to urge them to renounce violence and become more involved in the political process.
Elsewhere, the kingdom is supporting the US-backed Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, who is facing street protests organized by Hezbollah meant to topple the government. The Saudis are also backing beleaguered Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who is trying to work out a new unity government with the militant Hamas group, which is allied to Iran.
The relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia has long been uneasy, especially after the 1979 Iranian revolution. Saudi Arabia sided with Baghdad in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, and Riyadh and Tehran were openly hostile at the height of the conflict.
Saudi analysts say Iran is now trying to wrest the traditional leadership role Riyadh has played in the region. But Saudi Arabia will "not allow Iran to expand at its expense as a big regional power," said Dawood al-Shirian, a Saudi journalist.
"Iran is acting as a Persian state and not as an Islamic state," he said. "The conflict in the region is not a Sunni-Shiite conflict. It's a Persian-Arab conflict."
The view from Iran is different, said Mashaallah Shamsolvaezin, an adviser to the Middle East Strategic Studies Center in Tehran, which is closely affiliated with the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
He said a change in Iranian foreign policy to focus on improving economic and political ties with Middle Eastern countries instead of Europe has prompted the Saudi fears. He said the political shift is not coming at the expense of traditional powers like Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
He blamed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's "radical" rhetoric for Tehran's failure to send a reassuring message about its policy shifts.
"His statements not only have not helped. They have hurt Iran's strategic policies," he said.
PRECARIOUS RELATIONS: Commentators in Saudi Arabia accuse the UAE of growing too bold, backing forces at odds with Saudi interests in various conflicts A Saudi Arabian media campaign targeting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has deepened the Gulf’s worst row in years, stoking fears of a damaging fall-out in the financial heart of the Middle East. Fiery accusations of rights abuses and betrayal have circulated for weeks in state-run and social media after a brief conflict in Yemen, where Saudi airstrikes quelled an offensive by UAE-backed separatists. The United Arab Emirates is “investing in chaos and supporting secessionists” from Libya to Yemen and the Horn of Africa, Saudi Arabia’s al-Ekhbariya TV charged in a report this week. Such invective has been unheard of
US President Donald Trump on Saturday warned Canada that if it concludes a trade deal with China, he would impose a 100 percent tariff on all goods coming over the border. Relations between the US and its northern neighbor have been rocky since Trump returned to the White House a year ago, with spats over trade and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney decrying a “rupture” in the US-led global order. During a visit to Beijing earlier this month, Carney hailed a “new strategic partnership” with China that resulted in a “preliminary, but landmark trade agreement” to reduce tariffs — but
SCAM CLAMPDOWN: About 130 South Korean scam suspects have been sent home since October last year, and 60 more are still waiting for repatriation Dozens of South Koreans allegedly involved in online scams in Cambodia were yesterday returned to South Korea to face investigations in what was the largest group repatriation of Korean criminal suspects from abroad. The 73 South Korean suspects allegedly scammed fellow Koreans out of 48.6 billion won (US$33 million), South Korea said. Upon arrival in South Korea’s Incheon International Airport aboard a chartered plane, the suspects — 65 men and eight women — were sent to police stations. Local TV footage showed the suspects, in handcuffs and wearing masks, being escorted by police officers and boarding buses. They were among about 260 South
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) purge of his most senior general is driven by his effort to both secure “total control” of his military and root out corruption, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said told Bloomberg Television yesterday. The probe into Zhang Youxia (張又俠), Xi’s second-in-command, announced over the weekend, is a “major development,” Perdue said, citing the family connections the vice chair of China’s apex military commission has with Xi. Chinese authorities said Zhang was being investigated for suspected serious discipline and law violations, without disclosing further details. “I take him at his word that there’s a corruption effort under
RSS