By executing a Shiite cleric last weekend, the Sunni nation of Saudi Arabia created a martyr. It also inflamed its dangerous rivalry with Shiite Iran. Hardliners in both countries are now using sectarian differences to pursue political goals. Stability in the Middle East is at risk, along with implementing the Iran nuclear deal, finding an end to Syria's civil war and defeating the Islamic State. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia violate human rights and make war on their neighbors. Should the US choose one over the other or look for middle ground?
Sectarianism Renews Divisions in the Middle East
More
- Peterson Iran hard-liners seeing Saudi Embassy attack as a win-win
- CSM on Iran-Saudi tensions, why it's so hard for the US to disentangle from the Middle East
- Wright on the showdown between Islam's rival powers
- Boot on Saudi Arabia as an American ally of necessity
- Al-Ahmed on whether Saudi Arabia is a trustworthy ally
Credits
Guests:
- Scott Peterson - Christian Science Monitor - @peterson__scott
- Robin Wright - contributing writer at The New Yorker magazine, and a joint fellow at U.S. Institute of Peace and the Woodrow Wilson Center - @wrightr
- Max Boot - columnist who covers national security for the Washington Post - @MaxBoot
- Ali Al-Ahmed - Institute for Gulf Affairs - @alialahmed_en