{"id":109355,"date":"2023-03-17T08:05:35","date_gmt":"2023-03-17T13:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/?p=109355"},"modified":"2023-03-17T08:05:35","modified_gmt":"2023-03-17T13:05:35","slug":"what-to-expect-from-iran-saudi-arabia-relationship-refresh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/PERSIAN-HERITAGE.COM\/en\/2023\/03\/17\/what-to-expect-from-iran-saudi-arabia-relationship-refresh\/","title":{"rendered":"What to expect from Iran-Saudi Arabia relationship refresh"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"DW \u2014 The two long-time foes say they will improve their relationship. If they do, the detente could have a major impact on politics in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

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For many observers of the region,\u00a0the announcement<\/a>\u00a0came as a surprise. After years of rivalry and tensions, Saudi Arabia and Iran apparently want to start a new phase in their relationship.<\/p>\n

The decision is one that could have both regional and international impacts because in many areas and on many fronts, the two nations are opponents and have squared off against one another, both indirectly and\u00a0directly.<\/p>\n

The two countries have supported opposing parties to various conflicts:\u00a0for example, in Syria during the civil war there, and to this day\u00a0in the war in Yemen. In Iraq, Lebanon and Bahrain, they have become involved in local politics on opposing sides. According to the Saudi leadership, Iran is responsible for some of the rocket attacks on its oil facilities in the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n

A new chapter<\/h2>\n

Yet now Saudi Arabia and Iran say they want to open a new chapter on their relationship.<\/p>\n

There are good reasons for both to do so. In their attacks on one another, they are hurting themselves more than their foe \u2014 and in both political and economic terms. Additionally, neither side has been able to gain any real supremacy over the other.<\/p>\n

This realization is not something new. Two years ago, representatives from Saudi Arabia and Iran were already negotiating behind closed doors, recalled Sebastian Sons, a senior researcher and Saudi Arabia expert at the Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO), a German think tank.\u00a0\u00a0At the same time, it’s still true that the Saudis don’t trust the Iranians, he said.<\/p>\n

“But that is exactly why the Saudi leadership is being forced to come to an arrangement with Iran,” he explained. “An agreement is of the highest priority for the [Saudi] kingdom.”<\/p>\n

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