Saudi Feud With Iran Risks Fueling Unrest Across Middle East
- Proxy wars between two rivals could escalate in Yemen, Syria
- Al-Nimr's execution expected to bring Saudi Shiites together
Examining Cause and Effect of Saudi-Iranian Tension
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The relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran has certainly had more downs than ups, yet seldom have they come at a worse time for the region’s prospects.
The latest standoff, triggered by the execution of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr by Saudi authorities over the weekend, risks erasing the scant progress that has been made to resolve the crises in Syria and Yemen, where the majority Sunni kingdom and mainly Shiite Iran support rival players. While analysts don’t see any imminent head-to-head military confrontation, they do expect the proxy war between them to escalate.