PEACEFUL MIDDLE EASTERN COUNTRIES FULL

PEACEFUL MIDDLE EASTERN COUNTRIES FULL

Today, all the Gulf Arab states, with the exception of Bahrain, have restored or plan to restore full diplomatic relations with Iran. President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign, which included over 1,500 new sanctions and belligerent rhetoric, all aimed at isolating and weakening Iran. In contrast, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain supported U.S. In the succeeding years, Oman, Qatar and sometimes also Kuwait continued to engage with Tehran, even as tensions remained high. All the Gulf Arab countries (except Oman) then downgraded or cut ties with Iran. The recent rupture between Iran and these states can be traced to January 2016, when Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran after Riyadh ordered the execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent dissident in the kingdom. Relations between Gulf Arab countries and Iran had already improved significantly over the last two years. Even Bahrain – notoriously wary of engaging Iran – issued a statement welcoming the agreement and expressing hope for resolution of conflicts through dialogue and diplomacy. A senior Qatari official told Crisis Group that the accord was a “positive first step”, but that Saudi Arabia would need time to regain a degree of trust in Iranian intentions after years of enmity. Officials in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman all lauded the deal as a move toward stability and prosperity that will benefit all sides. Both countries sent technical delegations in preparation for reopening their respective embassies, suggesting that the two-month timeline is on track.īeyond improving bilateral relations, the agreement may also help lessen tensions in the broader Gulf region. A senior Saudi official told Crisis Group that Riyadh “wants to build on the momentum generated by the success of the Beijing talks”, while the Saudi finance minister indicated that the country was prepared to start investing in Iran “very quickly”.

For now, the agreement’s rollout appears to be proceeding apace: King Salman of Saudi Arabia invited Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi to Riyadh, and the two countries’ foreign ministers met in Beijing on 6 April. If all goes well, it could reduce the intense hostility that has existed between the two countries for the better part of a decade. The Saudi-Iranian agreement provides a roadmap for re-establishing diplomatic ties within two months. But it does not diminish the risk of a crisis triggered by Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program and the threat it poses, in particular for Israel, but also for some of Iran’s neighbours, including Saudi Arabia. The Iranian-Saudi rapprochement may lessen Gulf Arab states’ security concerns. The bottom-line conclusion is that while reducing the intensity of regional competition may help redirect political energy to the core internal conflicts, the prospect of swift solutions remains slim. In this survey, Crisis Group analysts based in the Middle East present local perspectives on the Saudi-Iranian agreement and its impact on the region’s wars and crises. From its side, Tehran accuses Israel of sabotaging its nuclear program, and Saudi Arabia of backing ethnic opposition groups in Kordestan, Baluchistan and other troubled provinces, along with hostile Iranian diaspora media. Israel, meanwhile, sees Iran’s nuclear program as an existential threat. Several Gulf Arab states have long been concerned about direct threats from, or even attacks by, Iranian proxies, as well as alleged Iranian support for dissident movements. The competing regional agendas of Riyadh and Tehran have compounded devastating wars in Yemen and Syria, and continue to fuel instability in Lebanon and Iraq. The degree to which the Joint Trilateral Statement issued by the three countries augurs a geopolitical shift that will see China assume a larger role in a region where the United States has long been dominant remains uncertain.Īn equally important question is whether and to what extent the Beijing agreement will contribute to managing, or even resolving, conflicts elsewhere in the Middle East. The countries’ effort to mend fences was public knowledge – Iraq and Oman had hosted previous rounds of talks between Iranian and Saudi officials – but China’s role in midwifing the accord was unforeseen, as was the speed with which the rapprochement has proceeded. Riyadh formally severed ties with Tehran seven years ago.

Tensions between the regional rivals date back more than four decades, persisting at lower levels through an earlier period of détente in the 1990s and then heightening in the past two decades. On 10 March, representatives of Iran and Saudi Arabia, who had been meeting secretly for five days in the Chinese capital Beijing, announced a Chinese-sponsored agreement to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Peaceful middle eastern countries