Worried by Iran’s deepening involvement in the Arab world, Saudi Arabia has been working quietly to curtail the Persian nation’s influence and prevent the marginalisation of Sunni Muslims in the region’s hotspots. In every major conflict zone in the region - in Iraq, Lebanon and the Palestinian areas - the Sunni kingdom has been putting its economic and diplomatic weight behind allies in direct confrontation with groups backed by Shiite Iran. Analysts say the tug-of-war between the two Mideast powers signals a new chapter in an uneasy relationship, one that has swung over the years between wariness and - at certain times - outright coldness and confrontation. On the surface, both countries have maintained the same 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 Beirut-based journalist for An-Nahar newspaper who follows Lebanon’s pro-Iranian Hezbollah group.
The vicious violence pitting Sunnis against Shiites in Iraq, the quick rise of IranÂ’s influence in that country, TehranÂ’s support for the militant Palestinian Hamas group and the events in Lebanon - where Hezbollah is staging open protests to bring down the Saudi-backed government of Fuad Saniora - have cast a shadow on Saudi-Iranian ties. In addition, the kingdom has expressed concern over IranÂ’s nuclear programme. Saudi Arabia is worried about even a peaceful programme because of the possible environmental threat - and fears of the Gulf getting caught in the middle of any fight between Iran and US troops stationed in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.
A Saudi official says Iran has sent messages expressing its desire to work with the kingdom to resolve the area’s conflicts. “But the deeds on the ground are louder than those messages,” a Saudi official said. “That’s making us more cautious” in dealing with Iran, he added. It has also made the kingdom more determined to be involved in exploring ways to find a settlement for the upheavals.
It has stepped up attempts to reconcile IraqÂ’s fractious groups and has invited several Iraqi leaders for talks, including anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and Harith al-Dhari, head of IraqÂ’s influential Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars. It has also been talking to IraqÂ’s Sunnis to urge them to renounce violence and increase their involvement in the political process.