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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 May 1999 Issue No. 428 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 6 - 12 May 1999 Issue No. 428
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Special Focus Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Hands across the Gulf
By Rasha SaadTehran announced this week that Iranian President Mohamed Khatami is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia on 15 May as part of an Arab tour which also includes Qatar and Syria. The long-awaited landmark visit to Riyadh will be the first by an Iranian president since the Iranian Islamic revolution in 1979. It also indicates that back-scene efforts by officials from both countries over the past 15 months to bring the two nations closer have been fruitful.
A visit by Saudi Arabia's defence minister, Prince Sultan Bin Abdel-Aziz, to Tehran on Sunday was seen as part of the reconciliation effort which has been taking place. During his two-day visit, Prince Sultan met with the Supreme leader of the Iranian revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Mohamed Khatami and other senior officials.
Sultan's talks with his Iranian counterparts tackled the tense situation in the oil-rich Gulf region and discussed ways of enhancing bilateral ties. In this same context the two countries signed an agreement to increase civil aviation flights between them.
Iranian observers described the contact as "a ground-breaking visit" and "a turning point in relations". Prince Sultan was equally warm in expressing approval for cooperation with Iran: it is "to the benefit of the two countries and the Muslim world". He also indirectly refuted US allegations that security in the Gulf was threatened by Iran, describing such claims as "baseless propaganda".
Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia deteriorated after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Riyadh and other Arab countries accused Iran of seeking to export its radical Islamic revolution. Iran on the other hand accused Saudi Arabia of threatening its security by tolerating the military presence of US troops on its soil, particularly after the 1991 Gulf War.
The annual Mecca pilgrimage season also has often been a cause of tension between the two countries. In 1987, 402 Iranian pilgrims died when Saudi police suppressed their annual demonstration against the US and Israel. Following this incident diplomatic ties were severed for more than three years.
However, since President Khatami took office in 1997, Iran and Saudi Arabia have taken several steps to strengthen bilateral relations. One such measure was the visit of Saudi Crown Prince Abdallah to Tehran for the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit held in December 1997. During the conference Prince Abdallah held talks with senior Iranian officials. This gesture was reciprocated by the visit to Saudi Arabia of former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani. This thaw in relations was followed by a steady stream of exchange visits by senior officials from both countries which culminated in a signed memorandum of understanding and the formation of an Iranian-Saudi committee. The first meeting held late in 1998 discussed economic concerns particularly boosting investment and trade exchange as well as the promotion of cultural cooperation.
Analysts regard such rapprochement as of great benefit to both countries. Saudi Arabia is anxious to improve regional security and acknowledges that Tehran is one of the keys to doing this. Any conflict with Iran would result in long-term and dire consequences for the whole Gulf region. Many inhabitants of the Gulf Cooperation countries are either of Iranian origin or share the same religious beliefs. A confrontation with Iran would result in internal disturbances in those small Gulf countries and could cause substantial damage to their economies. Saudi Arabia has particular reasons for being cautious and maintaining the loyalty of its large Shi'ite minority which is concentrated in the oil rich Eastern Province of the kingdom.
Of equal importance to economic security is establishing a consensus between Iran and Saudi Arabia with regard to oil production and oil prices as both are members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Cooperation between these two heavyweights is seen as vital for the stability of the region where more than two thirds of the world's oil reserves are located. The agreement by OPEC to cut output in March and the consequent rise in world oil prices is in part due to the cooperation and joint leadership of Iran and Saudi Arabia within the cartel.
Iran has been pushing for stronger trade and business links with its neighbours and has even suggested military cooperation with the Saudis. Prince Sultan reflected the innate caution of the Saudi government when he commented that military cooperation is a sensitive point at which to start restoring relations that have been fraught with difficulties in the past. The easier and safer option he implied was to "start with economic, social and cultural cooperation".
This rapprochement between the two major powers in the Gulf is thought to have the blessings of the United States. According to political observers it is in the interest of the US to see Khatami's moderate policies succeed for the alternative would be a hard-line anti-Western regime. It is not unlikely, say observers, that the US itself is seeking normalisation of its relations with Iran. Comments made in a speech last month by the US president acknowledged that Iran has been subject to abuse from various Western nations and that the time was approaching for nations to consider changing this situation. Saudi Arabia is doing just that.
