3. INTRODUCTION
• Gulf region, also known as the Persian Gulf, has been historically characterized by geopolitical tensions. This region
includes countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait,Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Oman.
One of the primary sources of tension in the region has been the longstanding rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
These two major regional powers have competed for influence and dominance in the region, often through proxy
conflicts in countries like Yemen, Iraq, and Syria. The rivalry is driven by various factors, including differences in
religious ideologies (Sunni Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia and Shia Islam practiced in Iran), geopolitical ambitions, and
the pursuit of regional hegemony.
• Another significant concern in the Gulf region is the security of oil and gas resources, as several countries in the
region possess significant reserves and are major global energy suppliers. Thishas led to a complex dynamic
involving the protection of vital shipping routes, such as the Straitof Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the
Arabian Sea. Any disruption or conflict in thisarea could have a significant impact on global energy markets.
• Furthermore, the Gulf region has also experienced internal and external challenges, such as political instability,
sectarian divisions,and the rise of non-state actors like ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) and other extremist
groups.
26. TIMELINE OF IRAN-SAUDIA RELATIONS
• Iran and Saudi Arabia have been regional rivals for more than three decades
• Tensions date back to the 1979 Iranian revolution.
• Relations were strained throughout the 1980s, as Saudi Arabia quietly supported Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war whe
Saudi Arabia reportedly makes three of its ports available to ship military equipment to Iraq.
• 1981: Six Gulf states – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain –form the Gulf
Cooperation Council, in part as a security response to the Iranian revolution and the Iran-Iraq war.
• 1982: Saudi Arabia reportedly supplies Iraq with $1 billion per month in aid.*
• May 1984: Iran attacks a Saudi oil tanker in Saudi waters, in retaliation for Iraq’s attempts to interfere with Iran’s oi
shipping Saudi Arabia shoots down an Iranian Phantom jet over Saudi waters.
• 1987: Shiite pilgrims clash with Saudi police during the annual hajj, resulting in a stampede. At least 400 people ar
killed in the clashes, including more than 200 Iranians. In response, Iranian protesters attack the Saudi and Kuwaiti
embassies in Tehran.
1988: Saudi Arabia severs ties with Iran over the hajj clash.
1988-1990: Iran boycotts the hajj after Saudi Arabia reduces the number of Iranian pilgrim visas in response the
clashes in 1987.
1990: Saudi Arabia sends aid to Iran after an earthquake kills 40,000 people.
1991: Riyadh and Tehran restore diplomatic ties.
27. TIMELINE... CONTINUE
• 1989-1997: Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani is elected president and takes a more conciliatory stance towards Saudi
Arabia.Trade and direct flights between the two countries increase.
• 1997: Crown Prince Abdullah attends the Organization of Islamic Conference summit in Tehran, becoming the most
senior Saudi official to visit Iran since 1979.
• 1999: Iranian President Khatami meets with Crown Prince Abdullah in Saudi Arabia.
• 2001: Iran and Saudi Arabia sign a security pact on terrorism and drug trafficking.
• 2005-2013: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad comes to power and takes a more hardline stance on foreign policy.
Tehran and Riyadh increasingly seek to boost their regional influence through proxybattles in Lebanon, Palestine,
Iraq, and Afghanistan.
• 2011: The Arab Spring fuels bilateral tensions. Saudi officials accuse Iran of inciting protests inBahrain against the
country’s Sunni royal family. The kingdom sends 1,000 troops to quell the uprising.
• 2012: A series of protests against anti-Shiite discrimination erupt in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. Saudi Arabia
blames Iran for the protests.
• 2014: Saudi authorities issue a death sentence for Nimr al Nimr, a Shiite cleric involved in the 2011 protests. Iranian
officials denounce the conviction.
• March 2015: Saudi Arabia begins a bombing campaign in Yemen. Riyadh claims the airstrikes are a response to
Iranian support for the Houthis, a Zaydi Shiite movement that took over large parts of the country in 2014.
• July 2015: Iran and the world’s six major powers reach a deal over Iran’s controversial nuclear program. Saudi
28. TIMELINE ... CONTINUE
• September 2015: A stampede in Mina during the annual hajj kills at least 2,000 people, including hundreds of
Iranians. Tehran accuses the Saudi government of mismanagement and threatens legal action.
• January 2016: Saudi Arabia executes Sheikh Nimr al Nimr, a prominent Shiite leader who supported anti-
government demonstrations, along with 46 others for alleged terror-related offenses. The move prompts protests or
condemnation from Shiites in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Lebanon, and Yemen. In Iran, protestors burn
part of the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and storm the compound.
• May 2016: Saudi Arabia and Iran fail to reach a deal over security and logistics concerning the annual Islamic
pilgrimage to Mecca.Riyadh’s pilgrimage ministry issues a statement saying the Iranian government “will be
responsible in front of Allah Almighty and its people for the inability of the Iranian citizens to perform Hajj for this
year,” adding that the Saudi leadership “has stressed its categorical rejection to politicize Hajj rituals.”Iran had barred
its pilgrims from traveling to Mecca to take part in the annual Hajj after claiming Saudi Arabia had failed to
guarantee the safety of its citizens.
• September 2016: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accuses the kingdom of “murdering” pilgrims
during the 2015 Hajj. “The stampede demonstrated that this government is not qualified to manage the Two Holy
Mosques,” said the Supreme Leader.
• Khamenei also took to Twitter to accuse the Saudis of “depriving” Iranians of the opportunity to attend the Hajj.
29. TIMELINE ... CONTINUE
• April 2017: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Iran is ready to establish good relations with all neighboring
countries, including Saudi Arabia. “What happened in front of the Saudi embassy in Tehran was carried out by some
reckless people and was condemned by all institutions,” Rouhani said, referring to protests that occurred following
Saudi Arabia’s execution of prominent Shiite leader Sheikh Nimr al Nimr in January 2016.
• May 2, 2017: In a televised interview, Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman says there is no space for
dialogue with Iran due to its ambitions “to control the Islamic world,” and its desire to spread its Shia doctrine. He
added, “We know we are a main target of Iran. We are not waiting until there becomes a battle in Saudi Arabia, so we
will work so that it becomes a battle for them in Iran and not in Saudi Arabia.”
• Late May 2017: President Trump visited Riyadh, where he signed a $110 billion arms deal. In a joint statement, Saudi
Arabia and the United States “agreed on the need to contain Iran’s malign interference in the internal affairs of other
states, instigation of sectarian strife, support of terrorism and armed proxies, and efforts to destabilize the countries
in the region.” After Trump’s visit, Iranian leaders harshly criticized Saudi Arabia’s regional policies.
• May 27, 2017: Supreme Leader Khamenei condemned Saudi Arabia for trying to “gain the friendship of Islam’s
enemies” (e.g., the United States) but dealing harshly with Muslims. “They oppress their own people in this manner,
and oppress the people of Yemen and Bahrain in other ways. But they are going to perish,” he said in a speech
marking the start of the holy month of Ramadan.
• June 7-11 2017: At least 12 people were killed and 46 were wounded in twin terror attacks on the Iranian Parliament
and the tomb of Ayatollah Khomeini. This Islamic State claimed responsibility, but Iranian officials blamed Saudi
Arabia for the attacks, pointing to Mohammed bin Salman’s May remarks threatening to bring the battle to Iran.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif accused Riyadh of being “actively engaged” in supporting militants inside Iran
days after the attacks.
30. TIMELINE ... CONTINUE
• August 13, 2017: Saudi Arabia asked Iraq’s prime minister to mediate between Tehran and Riyadh.
• Mid-August 2017: Iran sent pilgrims to the the haj pilgrimage to Mecca for the first time in two years.
• October 13, 2017: Saudi Arabia supported President Trump’s decision to de-certify the nuclear deal, citing the move
as a way to confront Iranian aggression in the region.
• November 2017: Saudi Arabia charged Iran with an act of war for a missile fired at the Saudi capital by the Houthis
in Yemen.Iran denied any links to the attack.
• December 2017: Yemeni Houthi rebels fired another missile at Saudi Arabia, but it was intercepted by Saudi’s air
defense system before it reached Riyadh. “This hostile and indiscriminate act by the Iran-back Houthi armed group
proves the continued involvement of the Iranian regime in supporting (the) Houthi armed group with qualitative
capabilities,” a Saudi spokesman said. Iran denied the allegations.
• March 15, 2018: Saudi Arabia said it will develop nuclear weapons if Iran does so. “Saudi Arabia does not want to
acquire any nuclear bomb, but without a doubt if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as
possible,” Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in a CBS interview.
• May 9, 2018: Saudi Arabia supported President Trump’s decision to withdraw the Iran nuclear deal.
• June 29, 2020: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal urged the international community to extend the arms embargo
on Iran. “We both see Iran as a grave danger not only to regional stability, but international stability,” he said. “We
believe that Iran is the chief sponsor of terrorism and that the international community has to be more firm in
dealing with the Iranians and their proxies.”
• August 28, 2021: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met his Saudi counterpart Faisal al Saud on the
sidelines of the Baghdad summit to discuss resuming bilateral talks.
31. TIMELINE ... CONTINUE
• September 22, 2021: In his address to the United Nations, King Salman expressed hope that talks with Iran will
yield a “tangible outcome to build trust.”
• November 9, 2022: Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib warned Saudi Arabia against interfering in Iran’s internal
affairs. Iranian officials had blamed Riyadh for inciting anti-government protests sparked by the death of Mahsa
Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, on September 16.
• December 2022: Iranian officials had refused to meet with Saudi diplomats amid anti-government government
protests in Iran, according to Iraqi officials. They noted that Tehran blamed Riyadh for the unrest. “The Iranian-Saudi
negotiations have stalled, and this will have a negative impact on the region,” said Amer al Fayez, an Iraqi lawmaker.
On December 20, Esmail Ghaani, the commander of Iran’s elite Qods Force, called Saudi Arabia a “puppet
government” of the United States and a “scum and not worthy of being an enemy.”
• March 10, 2023: Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic ties seven years after severing relations. The
regional rivals committed to reopening embassies in Tehran and Riyadh by May 2023. The deal, brokered by China,
also included the implementation of a security cooperation agreement signed in 2001 and a 1998 pact to enhance
cooperation on trade, investment, technology, and culture.
• April 4, 2023: President Raisi had accepted a Saudi invitation to visit the kingdom.
32. TIMELINE ... CONTINUE
• April 6, 2023: The Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers met in Beijing, facilitated again by China. Their joint statement
included the following points:
1. Expand the “scope of co-operation, and contribute to achieving security, stability and prosperity in the region”
2. Reopen open embassies in Riyadh and Tehran and general consulates in Jeddah and Mashhad.
3. Resume technical coordination to resume flights and facilitate the issuing of visas.
4. Affirm “readiness to do everything possible to overcome any obstacles facing the promotion of co-operation”.
33. CONCLUSION
• Iran despite of foreign sanctions and opposition , still it has strong hold in
middle east .
• Comparison between the two ; Iran and Saudi Arabia is complex ,Saudi
Arabia has more capabilities and economic stability than Iran but
itsmodernization is not indigenous , which shape its
compromisingbehavior.
• Iran has strong legitimacy in Muslim world (at societal level) because of its
anti West, anti Israel policies and behavior .
• Moreover Iran modernization is completely indigenous .
