Saudi Arabia and Iran Face Off in Yemen

Frida Ghitis

November 26, 2009

Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran have ranged over the years from coolly cordial to openly hostile. After all, the two countries see themselves as rivals in the quest for regional influence and for leadership of the Muslim world. They have very different histories and conflicting political ideologies, and they stand on opposing sides of the Shiite-Sunni divide. In recent months, strains in the relationship have greatly intensified. Today, the differences between Tehran and Riyadh have brought the neighbors dangerously close to open confrontation.

How serious is the crisis? Consider the recent headline in the respected pan-Arab newspaper Alsharq al-Awsat: "So: It is no longer a war of ideas!"

The writer, Osama Khawaji, was speaking about the war raging in neighboring Yemen, which has signs of becoming a proxy war between Persians and Arabs, between Shiites and Sunnis -- or, more plainly, between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Khawaji wrote, "The story of Iran with the Arabs is no longer just a war of words, but now has a military interpretation on the ground that we have previously witnessed in Lebanon, Iraq and Gaza, and recently in Yemen."

In Lebanon, Tehran and Riyadh back rival camps in that country's turbulent political landscape. Iran gives political, financial and military support to Hezbollah, while Saudi Arabia has provided ample funding to the Sunni coalition that opposes the influence of a three-part alliance made up of Hezbollah, Syria and Iran. A similar situation appears in Gaza, where militant Hamas receives support from Iran and Syria, while Saudi Arabia backs its rival, Fatah. But it is Yemen where the face-off threatens to bring Saudis and Iranians into open confrontation.

The small country of Yemen, which borders Saudi Arabia to the south, is experiencing a civil war that pits government forces against northern Houthi rebels. Yemen accuses Iran of backing the Houthis, who belong to the Zaidi sect of Shiism. Tehran denies it, but many in the Arab world doubt Iran's denials.

The Houthis are based near the Saudi border, and fighting has extended into Saudi territory. When the war recently spilled inside Saudi Arabia, Riyadh responded sharply. Officials in Riyadh said Houthi shelling had killed several Saudi civilians, causing the Saudis to fire back. The rebels accused Saudi forces of moving inside Yemen. The Saudis insisted they were only defending their country, and that King Abdullah had specifically ordered his military chiefs to expel Yemeni rebels from Saudi land without crossing the border.

Despite Iran's claim that it has nothing to do with Houthi rebels, the Iranian media is providing the most comprehensive outlet to Houthi rebels, in a way that sounds very much like it is taunting the Saudis.

A recent dispatch on Iran's Press TV portrays a David and Goliath battle, with brave Houthi rebels successfully taking on a much larger and better-armed Saudi force. Press TV relates that, "After suffering a 'humiliating' defeat in their last assault, Saudi forces have launched another major ground and aerial attack along the Yemeni border in the north, Houthi fighters say. The Saudis are using 'all types of ground and air weapons,' including tanks, artillery, rocket launchers, Apache helicopters and jet fighters."

The conflict is inflaming passions on both sides. Ali Larijani, president of Iran's Parliament, charged Riyadh with bombing rebels in Yemen and accused Washington of supporting Saudi Arabia's "unacceptable" actions. Iran's Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mouttaki issued a veiled threat, warning countries in the region not to intervene in Yemen.

On the Saudi side, indignation is spreading throughout the country and threatens to inflame anti-Iranian sentiment throughout the Sunni world. The grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah Al-Sheikh, issued a statement in the daily al-Watan charging that Tehran's support of Yemen's Houthis made it complicit in sin and aggression. He even issued a call to Iranians to protect their own Sunni minority from aggression. He offered strong support for Saudi military action against the Houthis, openly linking the Yemen rebels to Tehran and telling imams and preachers to back Saudi military action during their sermons. "We are right and they are wrong," he said. "It is clear they must be fought."

For decades, Iran and Saudi Arabia have stood on opposing sides of many conflicts in the Middle East. Most of the time, however, they have confronted each other through proxies and cash contributions in support of their desired outcomes. Most recently, Saudi Arabia, like many other Arab countries, has expressed great concern about Iran's regional designs and the potential threat by its controversial nuclear program.

The conflict in Yemen now threatens to bring all those simmering disputes to the surface. Neither Saudi Arabia nor Iran wants to enter into open confrontation. But armed clashes and popular passions always risk taking on a life of their own, escalating beyond the calculated wishes of political leaders.

Source: Uruknet.
Link: http://www.uruknet.de/?s1=1&p=60495&s2=27.