The Development of Saudi-Iranian Relations Since the 1990s: Between Conflict and Accommodation by Fahad M Alsultan & Pedram Saeid

Author:Fahad M Alsultan & Pedram Saeid [Alsultan, Fahad M & Saeid, Pedram]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General
ISBN: 9781317035947
Google: TMjmDAAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 31708769
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-08-25T00:00:00+00:00

The Saudi response to the Khatami presidency

The coming to power of a reform-minded president in Iran and early indications of a more conciliatory tone to its biggest Arab neighbour were favourably received in Saudi Arabia. Indeed, the Saudis were conspicuously swift to welcome Iran’s new president. Saudi Arabia was the first Arab country to offer its congratulations on Khatami’s victory. King Fahd wished Khatami ‘success in the service of the brotherly Iranian people’, expressing his desire ‘to strengthen the good relations between the two brother countries, in the service of the Islamic nation’. Khatami responded in kind, saying, ‘I hope a new chapter will open between our brother countries, to better serve their common interests and those of the Islamic nation’ (Saudi Press Agency, 24 May 1997). Saudi defence minister Prince Sultan Bin-Abdul Aziz said that the kingdom wanted ‘fraternal relations (with Iran) based on dialogue’. He added, ‘We hope that what they say will be put into effect’ (ibid.).

By the same token the press applauded Khatami’s election and held out the prospect of ‘a new era of friendship’ between Iran and its Gulf Arab neighbours. Abdul Al-Rahman Al-Rashid, the editor of the Saudi weekly Al-Majalla and the well-informed source close to establishment thinking in Riyadh, stated enthusiastically that Khatami’s victory could transform the history of Iranian-Arab relations. According to Al-Rashed, ties between the two countries ‘may become more relaxed, because everyone is yearning to escape from the cycle of bad relations and open the door wide to the Iranians in the Gulf and the Arab world generally, in a framework of positive ties’ (Al-Majalla, 30 July 1997). The Saudi daily Al-Riyadh said Khatami’s landslide victory in the May election and other changes in Iran ‘augur well for more clear-cut relations with neighbouring states’. It continued, ‘[d]espite the mixed experiences of the past few years, during which not too encouraging developments took place, the Arabs and Iranians are in the same boat even if certain differences divide them’ (Al-Riyadh, 6 August 1997). The Saudi official heading the GCC (1997–2001), Jamil Al-Hujailan, was quoted as saying that the Gulf States were encouraged by new hopes of improvement in the relations between the two countries under Khatami:

We welcome the new signs coming from Iran which take a new trend in relations. We hope these signs are in harmony with our belief that our relations with Iran should be the strongest relations … Iran is a big and strong neighbour … Agreeing with Iran and deepening its conviction on the need to cooperate with the GCC is important to stability in the region.

(Reuters, 4 September 1997)

The Saudi expressions of goodwill did not remain in word but were accompanied by action. Saudi Minister of Education Abdul Aziz Bin-Abdullah Al-Khoweiter visited Tehran with a message from King Fahd and the crown prince. Ali Reza Nourizadah, a London-based Iranian political analyst described the Saudi reaction:

For the first time in the history of the two countries’ relations and for the first time out of the protocol, King

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