Security Dynamics in Saudi-Iran Relations: An Analysis (1997-2013)

This qualitative study aimed to discuss and analyze the complex regional security dynamics that have influenced and shaped the foreign policy of two Iranian presidents, President Muhammad Khatami (1997- 2005) and President Mahmud Ahmadinejad (2005-2013) towards Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia and Iran are gripped in a zero-sum game, contesting for land, economic resources, weapons and most specifically regional hegemony. An ancient historical and territorial dispute, age-old cultural, ethnic and linguistic differences have brought the two powers in deep-seated mistrust and acrimony. All these factors further encouraged the two nations to support their proxies through funding, military arms, soldiers, and by promoting sectarianism. In 2011, the Arab Spring escalated the Saudi-Iranian rivalry and further derailed the fragile stability and security conditions of the region. The nature and pattern of relations between the two regional rivals is highly significant as their mutual relations not only affect their domestic politics but also the strategic and political landscape of the entire middle eastern region