An American publication Foreign policy claimed that secret meetings between Iran and Saudi Arabia had been going on since January, and that the ghost of the US withdrawal from the region had facilitated this process.
The American Journal of Foreign Policy wrote in a report by Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute: “We are looking for good relations with Iran,” Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in a televised interview. “We are working with our partners in the region to overcome our differences with Iran.” Just four years ago, the infamous prince objected, claiming that dialogue with Iran was impossible. He had said about this: “How can we talk to a government based on an extremist ideology?” He had promised that Saudi Arabia would drag the war into Iran.
What caused this 180 degree rotation?
Asked what has changed Saudi behavior, Parsi wrote: “One factor in the middle is more prominent than the others.” There are growing signs that the United States is serious about shifting its focus from the Middle East. The issue here is not what the United States has done, but what Washington has not done – in the middle – the failure to provide security assurances to partners that the United States will unconditionally support them regardless of their reckless behavior.
The imminent US military withdrawal from the region has not caused any chaos
Washington’s refusal to engage in conflicts with its partners in the Middle East has prompted regional powers to pursue diplomacy. Contrary to the apocalyptic predictions of the Washington foreign policy establishment, the imminent US military withdrawal from the region has not caused any chaos. Instead, regional diplomacy has crystallized.
Mohammad bin Salman‘s comforting remarks most likely referred to secret talks between Iran and its Arab neighbors in Iraq, which were held to reduce tensions and end the war in Yemen, and were first reported by the Financial Times. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has facilitated talks between Arab countries and Iran. He is clearly interested in resolving tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, as hostilities and proxy wars between the two countries at the regional level could further destabilize Iraq. Saudi officials initially denied the news. Tehran also declined to comment, saying only that it welcomed talks with Riyadh. But these denials were not true, and that was not all.
These talks will change the security situation in the region
The report added: Obviously, these talks are in the early stages, and it is possible that these talks will not resolve the differences between Iran and its Arab enemies. However, there are a number of factors that suggest that these talks could potentially change not only the direction of Saudi-Iranian relations, but also the security situation in the region. It seems that the regional powers themselves have organized and are leading this initial regional dialogue. This means that the great powers from outside the region have not imposed such a dialogue, and no foreign government is in charge of leading the dialogue. It is necessary for the countries of the region to take the lead and ownership of this process in order for it to be successful and sustainable.
However, this does not mean that the United States has not contributed to the process. The United States has done this most clearly – but not in the light of the perception that Washington’s foreign policy body usually plays a leading role.