Iran-Saudi Arabia: Important agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran with the help of China, what does it mean for India?

Ever since it was revealed that China has brokered a deal between two arch enemies Saudi Arabia and Iran, everyone is excited about it. Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Riyadh following the execution of a prominent Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia. After this incident in 2016, Saudi Arabia severed its relations with Iran. Since then there has been heavy tension between Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia and Shia-majority Iran. After prolonged tensions, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore political relations and reopen the embassy. India views the region as its extended neighbourhood. With the help of China, this important diplomatic success has reduced the possibility of confrontation between the two countries. To understand why this is so, we need to understand the history of the dispute and how it affects each country’s approach today.

what is the history of the case

The Iranians and Saudis were close allies through most of the decades of the 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s. They both had only one protector – America. They both opposed socialism, they both used their oil resources to become wealthy and mortgaged much of that wealth back into their populations. During this period it was Saudi Arabia, not Iran, that was the primary US ally in the region. But the Saudis got a limited amount of second-rate weapons, while the Iranians had the best and most advanced American weapons they could wish for. The problem was that the Shah of Iran thought only money equaled modernity and tried to forcefully modernize his country’s outlook. The Saudis didn’t make that mistake. During the 60s and 70s several Saudi kings advised the Shah against such rapid modernization but their advice went unheeded. In 1979, a combination of factors: angered conservative opposition to modernization, a dramatic drop in oil prices, false promises from opportunistic ayatollahs, fatigue with the Shah, and the Shah’s refusal to approve the mass murder of his own people by his descendants terminated and went to exile him.

what is the current status

Saudi Arabia and Iran will resume diplomatic ties severed in 2016 and reopen their embassies and missions within two months, according to a joint statement issued by the three countries. Now you are looking at the problem facing this Saudi-Iranian deal. While the two have agreed to talk and re-establish diplomatic ties, there is much that each side has invested against the other. In short peace would require costly write-offs and the other side would have to offer adequate compensation for such write-offs. Today Shias have been made weapons everywhere. For relations to calm down – Iran must either leave the Shiites or return to the adversarial status quo in all of these geographies. Take Lebanon for example, where Shiites are probably now in an absolute majority, and yet the sectarian politic is the smallest part. Forcing them to compromise would inevitably mean the loss of a solid and powerful asset in exchange for esoteric promises of equality and peace. As a rule “echo for the tangible” peace deals never work. The same question is everywhere – Syria, Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen, Pakistan.

no intention to host

China denied any ulterior motive behind hosting the talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia and said it was not trying to fill “any vacuum” in West Asia. It is noteworthy that in the talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, both the countries agreed to establish diplomatic relations and it was announced on Friday. The decision by the two countries to reopen their embassies in each other’s country after seven years is being seen as an important diplomatic victory for China as the Gulf countries feel that the US is reducing its presence in West Asia. The Foreign Ministry quoted an unnamed spokesman as saying that China has “no self-interest” and opposes geopolitical competition in the region.

‘China is a supporter of West Asian countries’

The spokesman said China will continue to support West Asian countries to resolve disputes through dialogue and consultation and build lasting peace and stability in the region. Iraq and Oman have also welcomed Friday’s agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to re-establish diplomatic ties. According to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the two countries will open embassies and exchange ambassadors within a period of two months.

India is watching everything closely

India is eyeing the rise of China as a new power in West Asia. Especially at a time when China’s relations with America are going through a bad phase. In such a situation, Beijing is trying to give a new shape to the global system. India considers western countries as its extended neighbor because of the nearly 9 million Indian expatriates in Saudi Arabia, UAE and other countries.