Iran-Saudi Arabia Conflict-Age Old War For Influence At Middle East. Published in 2017

Sectarianism forms the basis of the Iranian-Saudi conflict for influence that has spread geographically in the Middle East, but ideologically over the complete globe. It is a conflict spearheaded by the Shia and Sunni sect's clergy of Islam backed by the respective political/ruling elite. Ever since the Imam Khomeini led revolution in Iran toppled the monarchy of there in 1979, the new Iranian revolutionary leadership took the Arab monarchies to task. The House of Saud that rules Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly questioned and challenged over the legitimacy of their rule by Iran. Iran happens to be a controlled democracy under the Shia religious clergy and its revolutionary nature of politics provides a natural inclination for the Iranian people and leadership to attack the old school Arab monarchies led by the House of Saud. Iran and Saudi Arabia both gains strength from the sectarian divide in the Muslim world and they each exploit this divide to the best of their respective advantages. Both countries are engaged in a proxy war starting from the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, where Iraq was supported by the Saudi Arabian money. Iran responded by providing material and political support to Shia militant and political outfits in the whole of the Middle East.

Geopolitics has a great role to play in this conflict as well. Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Arab monarchies are an age old ally of the western world led by the USA. Iran is parked in the Russian camp after the revolution in 1979 when they took a U-turn on the foreign policy. That was the time, it can be confidently said that reason was over taken by emotions and the sectarian strife took its bloody roots in the Middle East causing death and destruction in complete region. Imam Khomeini took the initiative in this war calling an end to the Wahhabi Sunni House of Saud's hold on the Muslim holy lands of Mecca and Medina. Saudi Arabia responded by providing billions of dollars to Iraq in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s which bled Iran like nothing else ever could.

The relations between both of these giants of the Middle East remained a roller coaster ride ever since, with numerous tragedies. Both Iran and KSA fought their proxy wars in countries like Yemen, Lebanon and Pakistan causing immense disastrous results for these countries. In their blind sighted hatred for each other they funded sectarian militancy and hatred in the complete Muslim world. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia are theocracies thriving on extremist trends where hatred and violence takes priority over reason and peace and they resort to using false pride and propaganda to promote their respective view points.

In this conflict for influence in the Middle East, Iran at times gains strength in her argument over lack of transparency, democracy and human rights abuses in the Arab world. Arab monarchies would do everything in their power to maintain their hold on their kingdoms, regardless of it being at the cost of innocent blood and the suppression of basic human rights. Iran also hardly complies to freedom of expression or human rights too. The Arab monarchies are able to successfully sell their argument that Iran is an autocracy led by Shia theocratic leadership spreading hate and enforcing their ideology to the rest of the Middle East.

Recently the beheading of the prominent Saudi Shia cleric Nimr Al Nimr by Saudi Arabia caused widespread protests essentially by the global Shia population. There is a consensus in the Muslim world, irrespective of the sectarian divide that this extreme Saudi measure was uncalled for and the House of Saud killed Nimr Al Nimr along with some forty other Saudis. These were mostly Sunnis killed for raising legitimate questions challenging the Saudi monarchy unnerving the royals. The House of Saud is conducting its business in historic tribal traditions which can not be defended in the modern world. The Saudi recklessness only strengthened the Iranian school of thought. While diplomatic ties are severed between both the countries, another proxy war is on the horizon in the Muslim world which would further deepen the sectarian fault lines.

The stance of Muslim military power houses of Pakistan and Turkey would define the intensity of the upcoming sectarian war in the Middle East. Pakistan and Turkey are expected to stay neutral as usual however with guarantees to protect the Muslim holy lands of Mecca and Medina against any kind of foreign aggression. In the end, it will be restricted to the sectarian proxy wars satisfying the egos of the Iranian and Saudi leadership. In this process lot of innocent blood will be spilled around the Middle East. The Saudi and Iranian respective spheres of influences will not be challenged despite all this bloodshed. So fighting to gain authority over each other will not be successful. Loss of life, a wastage of money and resources are just a few of the disadvantages and inconveniences to be expected if such a scenario develops. The only thing that could possibly be achieved with this carnage is a huge stroking of egos of these two playground bullies.