Bahrain the Apple of discord in the Saudi-Iranian Conflict

The Undeclared War Between Iran and Saudi Arabia
Aref Alobeid, Ph.D. – 29 May, 2012 – Geostrategic Forecasting

Historically, Iran has blamed the Arabs for the demise of the Persian Empire in 636 A.D. The predominance of the ideas of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, the current Tehran’s nuclear program and the Iranian interventions against the internal affairs of the Arabic neighboring Gulf countries, constitute grounds of concern for the regime of the family Saud in Saudi Arabia, which is the old rival of Iran.

The factors that give to Saudi Arabia the power to compete with the other member of the Middle East at the regional level are firstly, the leader of the Sunni Islamic Wahhabism as official doctrine[1]. Secondly, the occupation of the first position in production of oil in the world, thirdly, the developing military power compared with all the Arab countries of the Gulf including Iraq and Yemen. In addition, the Saudi dominant role in the Arab League, the Islamic Conference and the Cooperation Council of Arab States of Gulf (GCC) [2].

In 1998, a positive climate developed between Saudi Arabia and Iran for their cooperation in policy-making of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to significantly increase their national incomes. However, recent revelations of Wikileaks reveal the concern of the King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia about the Islamic Republic of Iran in general and its nuclear program in particular. According to them the King Abdullah urges Americans to destroy the Iranian program and “cut the head of the snake”[3], as mentioned characteristics in the diplomatic documents leaked to the public.

The new era of uprisings in the Arab world concerns particularly the Gulf countries. The fear of revolt of the Arabs Shiite against the monarchies is real. Iran, exploiting the Shiite element, considers that the wave of uprisings in the Arab world, with the exception of Syria, is a great opportunity to regain its regional hegemony which has been lost since the Arabs limited his empire. Therefore, the Saudis, who know the Iranian intentions, made the decision to send forces to the neighboring monarchy of Bahrain as the first line of defense, resulting in a deterioration of relations between Tehran and Riyadh.

Bahrain is the apple of discord for the Saudi-Iranian conflict, where Iran, because of sympathy and solidarity, stands on the Shiite opposition of Bahrain on one hand; however Saudi Arabia supports the Sunni dynasty on the other hand. Moreover, the intervention of forces of Saudi Arabia in Bahrain prevented Tehran to exploit the uprising to overthrow Bahrain’s regime. Also, it caused disruption among Shiite communities in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Iran and Al Kteif in the eastern part of Saudi Arabia, next to the oil producing facilities. …more