Iran Nuke Deal Could Help It Mend Fences With Saudi Arabia

By Cecily Hilleary, VOA

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (L) & King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia. (UN photo, AP photo, respectively)

After years of mutual mistrust and jockeying for regional power, Saudi Arabia and Iran may be on their way to mending fences, analysts say.

Mutual concerns over the emergence of the so-called Islamic State group in the region and Irans impending nuclear deal with the West are providing stimulus for Riyadh and Tehran to head towards detente, analysts say.

If there is a deal on the nuclear issue, then this will bring Iran back as a participant in the dynamics of the international community, which will force it to become more pragmatic and more moderate, said Lina Khatib, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut. And this is in Saudi Arabias interests because the more extreme Iran becomes, the more threatening it becomes.

From friends to rivals

Saudi Arabia is a conservative Sunni Islamic kingdom, home to Islams holiest sites, Mecca and Medina. As such, it regards itself as the rightful leader of the Islamic world.

Iran is a Shiite Islamic republic, which has sought to exert religious influence over Shia populations elsewhere in the region.

Some four decades ago, both countries were relatively politically aligned and had friendly relations with the West. But things changed after the 1979 revolution in Iran and the return of exiled Ayatollah Rouhollah Mousavi Khomeini, who resented the Saudi kingdoms relationship with the West.

The Islamic Republic quickly started exporting the revolution in the Middle East, said Khatib. They were trying to get Shia populations in the region to accept the supreme leaders [Khomeinis] model of Islamic jurisprudence as the only acceptable political and religious model for [the] population.

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Iran Nuke Deal Could Help It Mend Fences With Saudi Arabia