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Iran and Saudi Arabia - everything just begins...

Politics Materials 14 October 2011 22:53 (UTC +04:00)
The cold war, which has been going on between Iran and Saudi Arabia for decades, has entered a new phase after the U.S. announced the disclosure of Iran's plotting assassination of the Saudi ambassador to Washington.

Commentator of Trend's Middle East desk Aygul Tagiyeva

The cold war, which has been going on between Iran and Saudi Arabia for decades, has entered a new phase after the U.S. announced the disclosure of Iran's plotting assassination of the Saudi ambassador to Washington.

Saudi Arabia and Iran, as the two largest states in the region with a theocratic regime, each upon its own estimates the regional processes, and each of them, of course, pursues their goals.

Foreign policy goals of Iran and Saudi Arabia have always been different. If Tehran mainly supports any change in the regimes of Arab countries aimed at Islamization, Riyadh is committed to a policy of maintaining stability in the region and makes no statements supporting the change of the existing regimes.

If Iran urges Palestinian Islamists to intensify their efforts and directs them against Israel, the King Abdellah invites Hamas and Fatah to Mecca for peace negotiations. This position of Saudi Arabia is dictated by the country's oil policy.

This contrast in policies of the two countries explains why these two countries have been conducting cold war in the region for many years.

However, after a conflict with an attempt to attack against the Saudi ambassador, it is necessary to suppose that the cold war between Tehran and Riyadh will only worsen.

Firstly, it is in the interests of the United States, which using the conflict, could easily impose additional sanctions against Tehran and doom the country to even greater isolation. This version immediately began to be considered by the U.S. government, who recently made a statement that Saudi Arabia and the United States are now discussing the possibility of presenting the topic of "Iranian plotting" to the UN Security Council's consideration.

Secondly, Saudi Arabia will thus be able to prove the countries in region the openly hostile position of Iran and justify all its claims about Iran's incitement of religious conflict in the country and the region. The Foreign Minister of the Kingdom has already made a statement, in which said that any hostile act against Saudi Arabia will be the responsibility of Tehran.

As for Iran itself, it found itself in an unenviable position, having subjected to many sanctions that will grow even more after this conflict.
It can be supposed that the cold war between Iran and Saudi Arabia only flares up and it can even lead to a complete rupture of diplomatic relations. However, a complete rupture can occur only after the season of pilgrimage (Hajj), as Saudi Arabia, who hosts thousands of pilgrims from Iran every year, will not want unrest in the country during the period of Hajj.

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