Skip to main content

Why Saudi Arabia Doesn’t Want Iran’s Regime to Fall

 


 A young Kurdish Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini died after being arrested by Iran’s morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab incorrectly. Protests have rocked the country ever since. Initially centered on demands to abolish the compulsory hijab and disband the morality police, the popular movement has in recent months broadened its scope to seek minority rights and, in some cases, independent states for Kurdish, Baloch, Azeri, and Arab groups in Iran. Amini’s death gave a common platform to these minorities’ long-festering grievances and led some Iranian opposition groups to call for regime change that could give way to a post-Islamic Republic Iran.

In heavily Kurdish regions of Iran, there have been armed confrontations between Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Kurdish separatist groups. Tehran has targeted Kurdish separatist bases in neighboring Iraq and accused these groups of seeking to secede from Iran. The Iranian regime has also accused the Saudi government of influencing, funding, and masterminding separatist activity within Iran.

Saudi Arabia and Iran have been archrivals since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which toppled Iran’s monarchy. At the time, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for exporting the revolution, sending shivers down the Saudi royal family’s spine. Since then, a series of direct and indirect confrontations between Tehran and Riyadh have shaped the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East—and the Gulf in particular. Each power today has numerous proxies that form regional spheres of influence. Most (but not all) Iran-affiliated groups are Shiite, 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

1 Saudi Move & Impact On West Asian Geopolitics

  As one of the most influential players in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia's actions have far-reaching consequences for West Asian geopolitics. In recent years, we've seen several moves from this powerful nation that are shaking up traditional power dynamics and creating new alliances. From its diplomatic spat with Qatar to its growing relationship with Israel, Saudi Arabia is making bold moves that could change the face of West Asia as we know it. Join us as we dive into the geopolitical implications of Saudi Arabia's latest actions and explore what they mean for the future of this critical region. Saudi Arabia has long been a dominant force in the Middle East, wielding its oil wealth and religious influence to shape regional politics. Its alliance with the United States has given it even greater sway on the global stage, making it a key player in shaping West Asian geopolitics. However, Saudi Arabia's role in the region is not without controversy. Its support for conse...

Fights break out as Kurds protest the French government's denial of a terrorist attack

  Following the murder of three Kurds in what is being considered to be a probable racist incident , there have been widespread protests in Paris. The fact that the authorities did not view the attack at a Kurdish centre as a terrorist act has enraged the Kurdish diaspora in Paris. A 69-year-old man opened fire on a crowd of individuals early on Friday morning at the Ahmet-Kaya centre on Rue d'Enghien in the 10th arrondissement. One of the three victims is badly injured. All of the dead were Kurdish community members who passed away both inside and outside the cultural centre. Agit Polat, a spokesman for the Kurdish centre, charged that French officials "yet again failed to safeguard us... This is a terrorist attack in our eyes, according to the AFP news agency. In the afternoon, a number of protestors, largely from the Kurdish diaspora, got into a fight with the police outside the centre and in the streets close by, throwing rocks and torching trash cans. Police use...

Verbal spat between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel judicial overhaul

  The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, turned down United States President Joe Biden’s suggestion that the Israeli government “walks away” from a plan to overhaul the country’s legal system. A verbal spat between the two close allies took place on Wednesday. The US President and Israeli Prime Minister exchanged a few words on judicial changes in Israel. On Tuesday, reporters asked Joe Biden about Israel’s judicial overhaul planned reforms. Biden reportedly said, “I hope he (Netanyahu) walks away from it.” He said that the Israeli government “cannot continue down this road” and urged compromise on this plan to overhaul the country’s legal system. Subsequently, the Israeli PM said that his country makes its own decisions. He reportedly said in a statement, “Israel is a sovereign country which makes its decisions by the will of its people and not based on pressures from abroad, including from the best of friends.” Netanyahu’s latest comments came a day after he de...