Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iran, which have been rivals since the Islamic Revolution in Iran, have reached an important milestone in the Middle East and organised a joint exercise in the Red Sea. These two countries, which have been hostile for a long time, have started to establish closer relations with the mediation of China in recent years. In this context, they successfully completed a naval exercise in the Arabian Sea.
In 2016, tensions between the two countries increased after Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shiite cleric and supported different sides in Syria. After this incident, Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Iran was set on fire. However, the relations between these two countries, which are among the BRICS countries, have been developing significantly since 2023.
6 Countries Carried Out Joint Exercise
According to Iran’s official news agency ISNA, Iranian Navy Commander Admiral Shahram Irani stated that the exercise was organised upon a request from Saudi Arabia. It is stated that 6 different countries participated in the exercise in addition to Russia. While it is still unclear what the results of this détente will be, it is known that there are many frozen issues between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
The two countries’ support for different poles, especially in the Syrian Civil War and the Yemeni Civil War, are among the main factors that increase the tension in relations. While Saudi Arabia is directly fighting the Houthis, tensions are observed to have decreased recently with the start of the Hamas-Israel conflict.
Tension Between Israel and Iran Continues
On the other hand, while waiting for a response to the missile attack of Israel on 1 October, which was ready to attack Iran at any time, it was stated that the relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia were very close to normalisation before the Israel-Hamas conflict that broke out on 7 October. This normalisation process , which was also supported by the US, was expected to completely change the policy towards Iran in the Middle East. However, after the Israeli attacks in Gaza, this normalisation process has been shelved.
