Pdf indiairan relationsprogress, challenges and prospects. Irans relations with saudi arabia amir sajedi, 1993. Saudi arabia and the uae are emerging as the two spearheads around which u. For years, this rivalry has inflamed violence in areas already torn by war and created new battlefields where there had been relative peace before. As an ally of the united states, saudi arabias relations with iran have been strained since the islamic revolution in 1979. The dynamics of future saudi arabianiranian relations in. Imad kamel harb is a distinguished international affairs fellow with. 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. The 1979 iranian revolution catapulted these two states into an embittered rivalry.
Nov 30, 2018 saudi arabia and iran have been engaged in a number of proxy wars in the middle east. Conflicts in the middle east, whether in iraq, lebanon, syria, or yemen, share a common factor. Iran viewed the iraqi occupation of kuwait as a serious threat, considering it the first step towards its expansionist mindset. Relations between tehran and riyadh took another blow in 2011 during the arab spring, when iran supported shiite forces, while saudi arabia backed sunni ones.
Mar 24, 2020 as relations with saudi arabia improved and the kingdom pledged to pump money into infrastructure projects like the rogun hydroelectric power plant and a highway in eastern tajikistan as well as education, tajikistan accused iran of involvement in the murder of tajik social and political figures as well as 20 russian military officers during. Nov 30, 2017 the latest developments in saudi arabia and lebanon. Iraq, saudi arabia aim to upgrade diplomatic relations. 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. Iran looms large in central asia despite sanctions and saudi. Media in category relations of iran and saudi arabia the following 10 files are in this category, out of 10 total.
Relations between iran and saudi arabia have never been at a desirable level. 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. The nonaligned movement has not made any formal statements on economic relations with iran. However, it continued to be cast by others into client or rebel roles of national inferiority. As a consequence of the new developments in irans foreign policy and the newfound openness to the west adopted by. Relations between saudi arabia and the islamic republic of iran are arguably at an alltime low. Relations between riyadh and tehran have gradually deteriorated since iran s 1979 islamic revolution, and, despite intermediate periods of comparative quiescence, in recent. Iraq and saudi arabia are setting up a coordination council to upgrade strategic ties, a joint statement said on tuesday, as part of an attempt to. Pdf study regarding the pakistan and iran relations. In relation to the iransaudi arabia conflict, however, the oic openly backed riyadh, which deepened intersectarian rifts within the oic. 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. The implications of this dynamics are particularly.
Saudi arabia in the new middle east council on foreign. Simon mabons saudi arabia and iran also deals with soft power territory. Iran s 1979 revolution, the fall of saddam hussein in iraq and the arab spring in turn increased the disagreement. As with saudi arabia, closer links were based originally on diplomatic exchanges and arms trade. Rather than carefully pushing back iran and enrolling broad support for this effort. Saudi arabias relations with syria, irans main ally have deteriorated due to the violent suppression of the protests in syria, which began in march 2011. As competition for dominance intensifies, the confrontation between irans network of state and nonstate actors, and a counterfront of traditional western allies centred on saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, and israel has become the regions central battle line. But in the 1990s, several developments conspired to bring china and iran closer. This research applies a constructivist framework by analyzing the social and historical construction of saudi arabia and iran. However, in may 2014, the ksas foreign minister announced their invitation to the iranian foreign minister, signalling a strategic foreign policy shift.
Even prior to this, saudi arabia failed in its attempt to rescue syria from the clutches of iranian influence and create a. In the case of the security dilemma between saudi arabia and iran constructivist argument about the rise of the dilemma is very important. All 334 saudi arabia 175 iran 118 houthis 52 usiran relations 46 january 9, 2020, 11. The majority of diplomatic work of the nonaligned movement is carried out at the joint ministerial conferences, the most recent of which was entitled solidarity for peace and justice and was hosted in tehran from. Although the two nations have never directly confronted one another, their struggle for regional dominance has. This book surveys how saudiiranian relations have unfolded in the persian gulf, iraq, lebanon, and palestine since 2003, identifying the sources of rivalry and cooperation between the two powers. This study analyzes the saudi iranian struggle for influence in iraq, the persian gulf, lebanon and palestine and its implications for u. New regional dynamics indiairan and paksaudi arabia axes. 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. A direct war between the two powers is not unthinkable. British society for middle eastern studies, louise haysey, 1999. Iran has long desired to enact roles of active independence and national sovereignty in world politics.
Oct 22, 2017 the saudi arabiaus partnership is a defining pillar of middle eastern geopolitics. Preceding modis visit to riyadh in april 2016, there were a number of other highlevel exchanges. Chinas belt and road economic diplomacy in the persian. Primer on sociopolitical and military developments in saudi arabia iran. Forouzan y, department of political sciences, allameh tabatabai university, tehran, iran, tel. 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. Keeping iran and saudi arabia from war foreign affairs. Relations were strained throughout the 1980s, as saudi arabia quietly supported iraq during the iraniraq war. The world economic forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
Both iran and saudi arabia are instrumentalising religious. The latest developments in saudi arabia and lebanon. Pakistan had made attempts to mediate between iran and saudi arabia. Irans relations with saudi arabia have always been troubled. Since 1979, saudiiranian relations have been tense due to their position as superior powers in the middle east.
Madiha afzal explains how saudi arabia has used religious funding in pakistan as part of riyadhs bid to expand its influence in the muslim world, and in its mission to counter iran. Some analysts say alnimrs execution was a way to bait iran into overreacting. Congressional research service summary saudi arabia. Mar 28, 2017 pakistaniran relations since partition have been complicated for a number of domestic and external reasons. Iran and saudi arabia, increasing tensions between the rival countries to unparalleled heights. In iran, protestors burn part of the saudi embassy in tehran and storm the. The chinairan relationship could detract from chinas efforts to enhance its international image as a responsible player. Tensions eased slightly under president akbar hashemi rafsanjani 19891997 and mohammad khatami 19972005, who sought to improve irans relations with its neighbors. Ever since, relations have only strained further, with both sides resorting to indirect methods. 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. The turbulent history of iransaudi relations world. Saudis strategic invitation to iran in the past, the ksa has been reluctant to receive any highranking iranian officials, despite irans persistent efforts to secure a meeting. King salman bin abdulazizs historic fourday visit to moscow in early october. Feb 27, 2014 saudi bangladeshi relations in perspective early relations between saudi arabia and the newly independent state of bangladesh where lacking substance from 1971 due to saudi arabias close relationship with pakistan with which it had just fought a 9month war of independence, claiming the lives of 3 million bangladeshis and displacing 10.
Incorporated as a notforprofit foundation in 1971, and headquartered in geneva, switzerland, the forum is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. Despite their substantial differences in history, culture, and. Now saudi foreign and security policy has gone into overdrive. But notably, a saudiled coalition is fighting the iransupported houthi rebels in yemen. Pdf iran and qatar have little in common in terms of geography, population, history, politics, and ideology. Syria, saudi arabia, and iran einternational relations.
The security dilemma in saudiiranian relations mohamed. The more isolated iran becomes, the more danger exists that china will be seen as an outlier due to its ties with iran. Saudi arabia has cut diplomatic relations with iran in a sharp escalation of tensions between the two regional foes following the execution of the saudi shia cleric sheikh nimr alnimr. In fact, by visiting the four major persian gulf countries since august 2015uae, saudi arabia, iran and qatarmodi has revitalized indias relations with the entire belt. Its agile diplomacy backed by credible force has turned russia, at least in the short run, into an indispensable. After protesters set fire to the saudi embassy in tehran, the kingdom cut relations with the islamic republic. This study analyzes the saudiiranian struggle for influence in iraq, the persian gulf, lebanon and.
The move prompts protests or condemnation from shiites in iran, iraq, bahrain, turkey, pakistan, india, lebanon, and yemen. Badeeb points out in the introduction to this book, history and geopolitics have repeatedly shown the importance of saudi arabia and iran to the west. As a means of seeking regional allies and increasing. Iran looms large in central asia despite sanctions and. A constructivist interpretation of iran saudi arabia relations. The most important element of both saudi and iran identities is religion. It is not only the lack of an ordering principle that brings the security dilemma in saudi iranian relations into existence, but also the ideas and identity that are held by both states matter in explaining. Saudi arabia cuts diplomatic ties with iran news al. The enmity between iran and saudi arabia is a persistent feature of middle eastern geopolitics. From the days of the shah of iran, both nations have sought regional leadership positions, setting them at odds. 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. Opinion saudi arabia has no idea how to deal with iran.
Tehran, it is unlikely that saudi arabia and iran will go far in talking about potential good times. It is clear that iran and saudi arabia are competing for chinese support garver, 20. The iransaudi arabia conflict and its impact on the. Edited by hooshang amirahmadi and nader entessar iran and. In response, saudi arabia and its close ally bahrain severed all diplomatic ties with iran. But upgrading its relations with iran may become more difficult as saying no to saudi arabia may also become more difficult. Risky gulf arab strategy tested by killing of soleimani. Overviewthe growing rivalry between saudi arabia and iranand by extension. This kind of vandalism was widely perceived as retaliation.
Relations between iran and pakistan reached their lowest level in the aftermath of islamabads visible tilt towards saudi arabia and the killing of 10 iranian guards in a militant attack at pakistans border last month. Understanding and leveraging this relationship will be a critical part of u. Saudis strategic invitation to iran al jazeera center for. Yet, in this case it is a story of a deep rivalry, rather than the rapport of iran and syria. Study of iransaudi relations in the persian gulf region within the framework of the threat balance forouzan y1 and alishahi a2 1department of political sciences, allameh tabatabai university, tehran, iran 2department of political sciences, isfahan university, tehran, iran corresponding author. After the ceasefire with iraq in august 1988 and the death of ayatollah khomeini in 1989, the islamic republic begin to redefine its foreign policy from the earlier confrontational approach toward a more. The relationship between the united states and saudi arabia has come under unprecedented strains in recent years. The united states relationship with saudi arabia has been one of the cornerstones of u. Despite having similar oilbased economies and sharing common membership in international organizations such as the organization of petroleum exporting countries, the organization of the islamic conference and the nonaligned movement, saudi arabia and iran.
The saudi arabiaus partnership is a defining pillar of middle eastern geopolitics. Iransaudi arabia relations and regional order adelphi. The dynamics of future saudi arabianiranian relations in context page 4 of 4. Iran, saudi arabia and qatar or iran and saudi arabia. Saudi arabia iran foreign relations critical threats. Middle east, saudiiran rift and pakistan middle east is facing one of the toughest crises of the time. Pakistans fore ign policy maintains balance relations with saudi arabia. Oct 24, 2016 overviewthe growing rivalry between saudi arabia and iranand by extension. The current thrust in indo iranian relations is just as old as the end of the cold war. Cordesman and nawaf obaid, national security in saudi arabia westport, ct. The competing powers of saudi arabia and iran continue to redress and reverse the strategic imbalance and direction of the middle easts regional politics. Jan 07, 2016 the first wave followed irans islamic revolution in 1979 and saudi arabias decision to promote the fundamentalist salafist strain of sunni islam to counter tehrans shia ideology.
Pakistan is the key to better iran and saudi arabia relations. Both countries have different values and perspectives in regards to diplomatic relations with the west. Nevertheless, the saudi government remained extremely wary of permanent efforts by the iranian leadership to export the. As relations with saudi arabia improved and the kingdom pledged to pump money into infrastructure projects like the rogun hydroelectric power plant and a highway in eastern tajikistan as well as education, tajikistan accused iran of involvement in the murder of tajik social and political figures as well as 20 russian military officers during.
For many years, commercial and military relations improved in spite of occasionally divergent policies, especially with regard to the united states. Managing the saudiiran rivalry council on foreign relations. Saudi arabia and iran, and in what ways do saudi and iranian leaders frame this confrontation around sectarianism. In 2016, riyadh severed diplomatic ties with tehran after iranian protesters set the saudi embassy ablaze. Saudi arabia is a territorial business as usual power, while iran frequently looks for progressive changes all through the gulf and the more extensive middle east with shifting notches of power. The mesmerizing story of two countries caught in history whose rivalry can destroy the world or restore its peace, this is the first book to untangle the complex relationship of saudi arabia and iran by rejecting heated rhetoric and looking at the real roots of the issue to promise pathways to. However, increasing saudiiranian 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. Since 1979, the saudi narrative has focused on a specific understanding of iranian ambitions in the region. Another radical mob attacked the saudi consulate in the northeastern city of mashhad. This book surveys how saudi iranian relations have unfolded in the persian gulf, iraq, lebanon, and palestine since 2003, identifying the sources of rivalry and cooperation between the two powers. In the early 1990s indo iranian interests converged around a number of areas, namely, energy, central asia. President barack obama has openly questioned riyadhs value as an ally, accusing it of provoking sectarian conflict in the region. Chinas relations with saudi arabia and iran the globalist. Most of the middle eastern states where appear to have plunged in civil war and overwhelmed by terrorism, there iran and saudi arabia being the regional powers fail to lead them out of the chaos.
As afghanistan became the battle ground for regional and external players, including china and saudi arabia, pakistans relations with saudi arabia significantly deepened, with an accompanying impact on pakistaniran relations. However, saudi arab has strong relations with us and european powers while iran views the united state as a most hazardous adversary. This is a distant past in relations between the two countries, but the slight loss of similarities between iran and saudi arabia after the islamic revolution has maximized this threat. The qatar crisis project on middle east political science. During the war, relations between iran and saudi arabia thawed considerably and the official ties were restored in 1991. 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 syrian negotiations. Mar, 2017 in fact, by visiting the four major persian gulf countries since august 2015uae, saudi arabia, iran and qatarmodi has revitalized indias relations with the entire belt. Study of iransaudi relations in the persian gulf region. At the same time, any deterioration in saudiiran relations or in usiran relations presents a serious obstacle for a smooth implementation of the bri in the gulf. The domestic level the view from saudi arabia for conflicts as persistent as that being discussed, competing historical narratives are con structed and advanced by the warring parties. Islam, and the complex triangular relations of power between iran, saudi arabia and iraq.
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