Pdf iran and qatar have little in common in terms of geography, population, history, politics, and ideology. Mossad discovered iranian nuclear archive in 2016 and. Longstanding racial and religious animosity between iran and its neighbors complicates u. Iran, saudi arabia and qatar or iran and saudi arabia. Israel viewed iran as a natural ally as a nonarab power on the edge of the arab world, in accordance with david ben gurions. The more isolated iran becomes, the more danger exists that china will be seen as an outlier due to its ties with iran. At times peacefully coexisting, while at other times in bitter conflict. Irans relations with saudi arabia have come to define and drive the wider. There is a baggage of historical mistrust, primarily on the iranian side. The dynamics of future saudi arabianiranian relations in. Iran must be made to understand that core arab politics is off limits, and this includes among other things the palestinian dispute with israel.
Republic of yemen or pdry and iran changed entirely after the 1979 iranian revolution, as they had been on very poor terms with the shah, later becoming cordial with the islamic republic. Its mission is to be an analytical, researchled global forum for informing, influencing and. This report documents a study of saudiiranian relations since. Iran finds its revolutionary message diluted and overtaken by events. Pdf conflicts between iran and the gulf arab states. Dispute over the shatt alarab disturbs relations peridocally, outlined the history and recent developments in the shatt alarab crisis. Relations cuszil cuszil yemen divi saudi arabia oman sior1s ethiopia gulf of aden somalia arab j an sea cuszil cuszil cuszil cuszil cuszil. Irans arab street strategy provokes dissent inside saudi arabia. King faisal of saudi arabia was instrumental in organizing the arab oil embargo in the aftermath of the 1973 yom kippur war. The revolution transformed relations between iran and syria, which had often been hostile under the shah. First 164machine cascade comes on line at natanz pilot. The relations between pakistan and iran have seen many prospects of convergence and divergence. Saudi arabia and the arab spring ren rieger gulf research center context, the decisive factors are geographic proximity, the nature of the concerned states political system, and the quality of the particular regimes relations with the kingdom and iran. Iaea publishes report of irans breaches of the npt.
Nonetheless, president mohamed morsi is the first egyptian president to. Pdf relations between iran and saudi arabia have never been at a. Oman and iran maintain good military relations and security cooperation as they frequently conduct joint military exercises, the last of which was conducted in 2015. Two years earlier, the ruler of abu dhabi and first president of the uae, sheikh zayed bin sultan al nahyan, had encapsulated the prevailing mood in gulf arab capitals when he told the. Its agile diplomacy backed by credible force has turned russia, at least in the short run, into an indispensable. Occasional paper understanding irans role in the syrian. Instead of antagonism, oman chooses to maintain good relation with the other gulf countries and iran. National archives, rg 59, central files 196769, pol 331 iraniraqshatt alarab. After the 2011 arab uprisings, regional instability is. Iran, being the first country to recognize creation of pakistan in 1947, has always supported pakistans stance on kashmir issue. Turkeys role in the middle east united states institute. While the relationship has for the last fortyodd years witnessed its share of ups and downs, beginning a steep decline following the 1979 revolution in iran and its concomitant regional reverberations, the current climate of hostility is unprecedented, as are the regionwide repercussions of geo. Relations between iran and its gulf neighbours are invariably more complex than.
Although ideology has played a role, their respective regional strategic interests have largely shaped their relationship. Irans relations with a number of arab states are already strained, and could further deteriorate if iran were to acquire nuclear. Managing the saudiiran rivalry council on foreign relations. Pyongyang established diplomatic relations with the more radical prosoviet nations such as. The chinairan relationship could detract from chinas efforts to enhance its international image as a responsible player. Turkeys future role in the middle east 23 conference participants 27 about the author 28 about the institute 29. Iraniraq relations congressional research service 1 background iran has sought to shape and influence the postsaddam political structure in iraq to irans advantage by assuring the political success of proiranian politicians, but with mixed success. Arak heavy water facility is completed, two production lines. Summary v preface viii 1 introduction 1 2 background 2 3 historical and geostrategic context 5 4 turkey, the kurds, and relations with iraq 8 5 turkey and iran 12 6 turkey, syria, and the water crisis 16 7 turkey and the middle east peace process 20 8 conclusion. Ulrichsen argues that probably more than any bilateral relationships in the persian gulf, the ties between the united arab emirates uae and iran have been multidimensional and even crosspurpose. Nowhere have these changes been more profound than in irans relations with the arab world.
From lebanon to iraq, usiran escalation shows no sign of. Among the areas straining relations between the two are turkeys support for the syrian opposition, growing competition over iraq, and the kurdish and palestinian issues. Iranbacked militias, led by the islamic revolutionary guard corps and hezbollah, have been fighting alongside the syrian arab army since at least 2012. Arab leagueiran relations refer to political, economic and cultural relations between the mostly shia persian country of iran and the mostly sunni and arab organization arab league within the middle east, historical conflicts have always coloured neighbouring arab countries perceptions about iran. Foreign relations of the united states, 19691976, volume e4, documents on iran and iraq, 19691972. Irans relations with the gulf states are guided by opportunism rather than an overarching. Summary key points saudi arabia and its gulf allies have distanced the horn of africa from iran through financial incentives.
Syria and iran are the two parties most responsible for spoiling u. Policy and options congressional research service 1 political history iran is a country of nearly 80 million people, located in the heart of the persian gulf region. Foreign relations of the united states, 19691976, volume. Iran and israel steven simon israel and iran have interacted since israels birth in 1948. The deepening iranpakistan defence cooperation, especially in sensitive areas including nuclear technology, emerged as an important factor in consolidating their relationship.
Arab views of a nuclear iran council on foreign relations. Iran was the second muslimmajority country to recognize israel as a sovereign state after turkey. Furthermore, most research on middle eastern security focuses on the armed forces themselves rather than. From the establishment of the state of israel in 1948 until the iranian revolution and the fall of the pahlavi dynasty in 1979, israel and iran maintained close ties. Syrian president bashar alassad has been bolstered by assistance from iran and russia. Because of irans geostrategic location on the persian gulf. The arab world has mixed opinions about a nuclearcapable iran. Mossad operatives broke into a warehouse in an industrial area in tehran and, according to the report, had six hours and 29 minutes to finish the job before the morning shift arrived at 7 a. Relations between saudi arabia and the islamic republic of iran are arguably at an alltime low. The enmity between iran and saudi arabia is a persistent feature of middle eastern geopolitics. Irans position was clarified as pursuing a policy of expediency to protect its strategic interests in the region while not adhering to the ideological frame imposed by the islamic revolution. Omans relations with iran increased more complex after the arab spring. Qatar has been successful at wooing hamas away from iran and syria, and has built an alliance with. Irans support has enabled assad to survive the conflict, although whether iran would have managed to achieve this outcome without russias own intervention remains questionable.
The united states was an ally of the late shah of iran, mohammad reza pahlavi the shah, who ruled from 1941 until his ouster in february 1979. The growing rivalry between saudi arabia and iranand by extension, their allies and proxy forces in the regionwill likely shape the middle. Although irans foreign relations had improved under khatami, in the early 2000s earlier progress was eroded by irans ostensible support of terrorist groups in the middle east and conflict with the european union and the united states over irans nuclear program. The security dilemma in saudiiranian relations mohamed. In a bestcase scenario, normalization would involve the inclusion of iran in new regional security arrangements. The geopolitics of the region grc paper the arab spring has yet to give way to the hopedfor glorious summer, but for iran it has already turned into a winter of discontent. Yet, irans growing ties with india and the growing role of the us in pakistan and afghanistan can adversely affect iranpakistan relations in the coming years. Turkishiranian relations in a changing middle east rand. Arab countries that enjoy good relations with both the united states and iran. An operation by the mossad earlier this year to steal files relating to irans nuclear program was conducted on january 31, according to a report by the new york times. Peoples mojahedin organization of iran the pmoimek seeks to replace irans religious dictatorship with a secular, pluralistic, democratic government that respects individual freedoms and gender equality.
North yemen the yemen arab republic or yar had very bad relations with iran as yemeni president ali abdullah saleh was firmly on the side of iraq during the. The mutually beneficial relations between the two countries have provided iran with opportunities to use syria as a guaranteed lifeline for. Syria cooperates with iran in providing lebanese hezbollah with arms. Ascendancy frustrated gulf research center 5 introduction. Saudiiranian relations since the fall of saddam rand corporation.
An economic evaluation article pdf available in strategic analysis 364. Iran has a large population and a long history of nationhood, while saudi arabia holds significant oil reserves and is custodian of islams holiest sites before the 1979 iranian revolution, relations between iran and saudi arabia proceeded without major incident. Iaea board of governors, rules iran to be in noncompliance. Tehran, it is unlikely that saudi arabia and iran will go far in talking about potential good times.
Till 1970s era, the two countries exhibited enormously cordial relations. Iran begins constructing a heavy water reactor at arak. The implications of these issues are also examined to emphasize their effects on saudiiranian relations, as well as stability in africa. Turkey and iran both have sought to exploit the emerging new order in the region in the wake of the arab spring to achieve their respective interests in the middle east. Missed opportunities and paths forward suzanne maloney in the opening weeks of 2007, the turbulent politics of the islamic.
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