Nathalie Goulet,
Deputy Chairman of the Commission of Foreign Affairs and Defense Forces at the
French Senate, recently said Saudi Arabia cannot bear Iran returning to
international arena and it has planned the recent dispute as a scheme to hamper
Iran’s growing international relations.
He says it is a war
of economy and seeking the upper hand behind a mask of religion. Behind the
religious differences and generations-old grudges that Saudi Arabia and Iran
hold against each other, there lies a sense of arrogant rivalry and an economic
war as well.
He is of the view
that Persian Gulf littoral countries, not least of all Saudi Arabia, never accepted
the Iran nuclear deal, regarding which they still preserve their rage against
the United States. He is of the view that the Wahhabi king has not only to
fight the Islamic, but to prove that fighting the group is a real objective
with Riyadh as well, even though the monarch has been accused of funding ISIS.
Therefore, besides
several beheading punishments on the onset of the current Christian year, Saudi
Arabia needed to make a coalition more powerful than 34 countries.
In this complex
region nothings comes as coincidence. Saudi Arabia knew well that by executing
a dissident Shiite sheikh, it would not only trigger anger and demonstrations
on the streets of Tehran, but enrage regional Shiite minorities in Bahrain,
Yemen and Lebanon as well.
This was a
well-calculated move from Saudi Arabia to stimulate rival Iran. This comes amid
Iran’s attempts to return to the scene of world politics as Tehran has turned
into the unavoidable venue for politicians, tourists, and businessmen.
The revival and
return of Iran to the international arena is unbearable for Saudi Arabia. Since
Saudi Arabia is facing a historical budget deficit of US$87 billion, equal to 20
percent of its GDP, Iran in the near future will gain access to over $100
billion of its assets blocked around the world.
Saudi Arabia does
with a very convoluted governmental system. Feeling secluded and abandoned by
the US, Saudi Arabia feels downgraded by turning into the States’ second ally.
Therefore, Saudi
Arabia is forced to prove that it really wants to fight terrorism. By executing
a Shiite leader and enraging all Shiites, it showed it wants control over the
Gulf, one that in the eye of Saudi Arabia cannot be a Persian gulf.
Although the US has also
tried to give an impression that it disapproves action of the Saudi government,
the strategies of Saudis are clear: to hamper the process of Iran’s return to
the international arena step by step.
To achieve its
ultimate objective Saudi Arabia intends not only to team up with Persian Gulf
kingdoms, but is eyeing relations with Turkey and, in particular, Israel. As it
goes, the enemy of enemy is a friend, seems to be true about governments as
well.
A meager spark is
needed for a highly militarized region to turn into a blazing furnace, either
directly or via in-between agents which Iran cannot control.
It is feared that,
like the days of the Iran-Iraq war, the West would support Iran’s rivals, at
the top of which stands Israel. It seems that the worrying silence of
ambassadors supports that view.
However, no one
should forget that the world needs unity to fight the ISIS but one witnesses a
pointless diplomatic pressure rising in Iran and Saudi Arabia. The entire
balance and stability of this strategic region is at stake. It seems arms
dealers are going to have bright days ahead.
All the nations have
to curb the factors that can aggravate sectarian conflicts between the Shiite
and Sunni. It is the harsh reality emerging right before all of us certainly to
turn against us, with flares going beyond the current boundaries.
