Ok?
Is this a BIG deal or Not?
Maybe…..
The two Middel East countries are NOT on the same page….
The Saudi’s run a entirely differnt econmic operation…..
The Saudi’s have strong ties to the West….
Iran is a pariah to the West and even other Middle East countres as it has exported instability and seeks to enlarge it’s influence thru violence…
Is this a big deal?
The media stories are saying so….
But no so fast….
This as about two countries talking to each other IN the Middle East….
This is NOT a political , economic or military alliance….
This could go away in heartbeat….
It would work for the Saudia’s to keep their old enemy closer…
And MOST IMPORTANT…
Have Iran STOP fighting against Saudi interests at home and other places….
Is this a ‘peace’ deal’?
It could work for Iran to try to get back into the world….
(Iran has major internal economic and cultural issue’s brewing at home)
Both countries have autocratic leadership as does China and THAT IS gonna worry America and the West….
One could also see this as a move against Democracy across the planet….
Instead of these strongly led countries reliance of Western Democracy who switch leadership regularly and have their people’s wishes as the driving force ?
This announcement IS about the possible joining of MORE states that ‘repress’ the people’s will….
And lets face it…..
The Saudi’s ARE leveraging their oil wealth against the West, who the Saudi’s also rely on, for military support ….
They ARE playing President Biden in this….
President Biden’s White House has publicly welcomed the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran and expressed no overt concern about Beijing’s part in bringing the two back together. Privately, Mr. Biden’s aides suggested too much was being made of the breakthrough, scoffing at suggestions that it indicated any erosion in American influence in the region.
And it remained unclear, independent analysts said, how far the rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran would actually go. After decades of sometimes violent competition for leadership in the Middle East and the broader Islamic world, the decision to reopen embassies that were closed in 2016 represents only a first step.
It does not mean that the Sunnis of Riyadh and the Shiites of Tehran have put aside all of their deep and visceral differences. Indeed, it is conceivable that this new agreement to exchange ambassadors may not even be carried out in the end, given that it was put on a cautious two-month timetable to work out details.
The key to the agreement, according to what the Saudis told the Americans, was a commitment by Iran to stop further attacks on Saudi Arabia and curtail support for militant groups that have targeted the kingdom. Iran and Saudi Arabia have effectively fought a devastating proxy war in Yemen, where Houthi rebels aligned with Tehran battled Saudi forces for eight years. A truce negotiated with the support of the United Nations and the Biden administration last year largely halted hostilities.
The U.N. estimated early last year that more than 377,000 people had died during the war from violence, starvation or disease. At the same time, the Houthis have fired hundreds of missiles and armed drones at Saudi Arabia.
Now the crown prince is turning to the Chinese. “Some folks in the gulf clearly see this as the Chinese century,” said Steven A. Cook, a senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. “The Saudis have expressed interest in joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and a good deal of their oil goes to China.”
Mr. Cook compared the gambit by Prince Mohammed, known by his initials M.B.S., to the approach of President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, who during the Cold War tried to play the United States and Soviet Union off each other. “It actually did not work out as well as Nasser hoped,” Mr. Cook said. “It could backfire on M.B.S.”….