Saudi-Iranian relations since the fall of Saddam : rivalry, cooperation, and implications for U.S. policy / Frederic Wehrey [and others. [electronic resource]

Title from PDF title page (viewed Apr 2, 2009).

Includes bibliographical references.

"Sponsored by the Smith Richardson Foundation."

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Issued by: RAND National Security Research Division.

Introduction: Saudi Arabia and Iran-between confrontation and cooperation -- Sectarianism and ideology in the Saudi-Iranian relationship -- Relations in the "core": conflict regulation in the Gulf and Iraq -- Contention on the periphery: Saudi-Iranian relations and the conflicts in Lebanon and Palestine -- Conclusion: key findings and implications for U.S. policy.

The often tense relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran has been at the center of many of the major political shifts that have occurred in the Middle East since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. This volume documents a study of how relations between the two powers have unfolded in the Persian Gulf, Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine from 2003 through January 2009. Wehrey and others detail the complex and multidimensional relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran and its implications for regional stability and U.S. interests. In doing so, the authors challenge conventional thinking about Saudi-Iranian relations, arguing, for example, that Sunni-Shi'a distinctions are not the key driver in dealings between the two nations, that the two states have a tendency to engage on areas of common interest, and that the notion of a watertight bloc of Gulf Arab states opposing Iran is increasingly unrealistic. The study concludes with U.S. policy recommendations for leveraging the Saudi-Iranian relationship, particularly in the context of a U.S. drawdown in Iraq, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the Iranian nuclear issue.

English.