Security and defense strategies of Iran, Saudi Arabia in the Middle East region
Subject Areas : Middel Eastmohammad kamarroosta 1 , سعید مقیمی 2 , mir ebrahim seddigh 3
1 -
2 -
3 - Department of Law and Political Science Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran
Keywords: Iran, Saudi Arabia, defense strategy, foreign policy, national security,
Abstract :
One of the historical experiences of mankind that has led to a common understanding of foreign policy is that military authority is necessary for an effective and efficient foreign policy.In fact, a country with weak military and defense foundations and unable to secure its national interests cannot be expected to have an influential foreign policy and play an effective role in the international arena.
Considering the mutual relationship between foreign policy and the security and defense strategies of countries and the importance of Iran and Saudi Arabia as the top powers of the crisis-causing and challenging region of the Middle East, this article is about the drivers, principles and foundations of foreign policy and defense strategies of Iran and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia and the imagination of each of them speaks of the threat.
The main conclusion of this article is that Iran has a coherent strategy towards the Middle East region with its cross-border strategy of deterrence against threats such as America, Israel and Arabia and ISIS terrorism in order to maintain and strengthen its strategic depth and maintain its internal security, but Saudi Arabia has no coherent strategy. It has no interest in the region and has used the strategy of buying loyalty to increase the loyalty of Arab and Sunni countries in the region.
1) Obaid, Nawaf, “A Saudi Arabian Defense Doctrine: Mapping the Expanded Force Structure the Kingdom Needs to Lead the Arab World, Stabilize the Region, and Meet Its Global Responsibilities May 2014, p. 2.
2) Adelkhah, Nima, “Iran Integrates the Concept of ‘Soft War’ into Its Strategic Planning,” Terrorism Monitor, Vol. VIII, No. 23, June 12,2010, p. 4 and
3) Allison, Graham et al., “The Iran Nuclear Deal, A Definitive Guide,”Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, August 2015, p. 1.
4) Al-Saud, Sultan bin Khalid Al-Faisal (HRH Prince), “Clear and Present Danger,” pp. 24–25, in GCC Security Amid Regional Crises, (Oxford: A Publication based at St Antony’s College, Spring 2016), p. 25.
5) Arafat, Alaa Al-Din, “Egyptian-Saudi Relations Between Short-Lived Honeymoon and Radical Strategic Shifts,” Journal of Global Peace and Conflict, Vol. 7, No. 1, June 2019, pp. 1–11 (p. 7).
6) Arafat, Alaa Al-Din, The Rise of Islamism in Egypt (London and USA:Springer and Palgrave, First Edition, July 2017).
7) Blanchard, Christopher M. “Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations.”RL33533, Congressional Research Service, November 22, 2017.p32.
8) Elik, Suleyman, “Iran-Turkey Relations at Hasan Rouhani Era: A Special Reference to Iran-US Nuclear Negotiations,” BILGESAM Analysis,Middle East, No. 1108, Wise Men Center for Strategic Studies (BILGESAM),Istanbul, December 20, 2013, p. 2.
9) Even, Shmuel and Guzansky, Yoel, “Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030: Reducing the Dependency on Oil,” INSS Insight, No. 819, May 6, 2016,p. 2.
10) Gaub, Florence, “Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Alliance,” European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), February 2016, p. 3.
11) Guzansky, Yoel and Even, Shmuel, “The Challenge of the Oil Market to the Gulf States,” INSS Insight, No. 926, May 10, 2017, p. 2.
12) Guzansky, Yoel, “The Saudi Nuclear Genie Is Out,” The Washington Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 1, Spring 2015, pp. 93–106 (p. 102).
13) Hollingshead, Emmet, “Iran’s New Interventionism,” p. 24 and Kam,Ephraim, “Iran’s Shiite Foreign Legion,” Strategic Assessment, Vol. 20,No. 3, October 2017, pp. 49–58 (p. 49).
14) Holloway, William F. (Major), “Saudi Arabia’s Nuclear Posture: Is Hedging the Future?” Master thesis in Security Studies, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, September 2016, pp. 91–92.
15) Kahl, Colin H., et al., Risk and Rivalry: Iran, Israel and the Bomb (Washington, DC: Center for a New American Security [CANAS], June 2012), p. 9.
16) Kamrava, Mehran, “Iran’s Regional Foreign and Security Policies in the Persian Gulf,” in The International Relations of the Gulf, Working Group Summary Report, Summary Report No. 1, Center for International and Regional Studies Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, Doha, 2009, p. 14.
17) Miller, Nicholas L. and Volpe, Tristan A., “Abstinence or Tolerance:Managing Nuclear Ambitions in Saudi Arabia,” The Washington Quarterly,Vol. 41, No. 2, Summer 2018, pp. 27–46 (p. 27).
18) Miller, Rory. “International Actors and the New Balance of Power in the Gulf.”Al Jazeera Centre for Studies, Doha, Qatar, March 19, 2018.
19) Nasr, Vali, “Iran Among the Ruins: Tehran’s Advantage in a Turbulent Middle East,” Foreign Affairs, Vol. 97, No. 2, March/April 2018,pp. 108–118 (p. 110).
20) Price, Monroe, “Iran and the Soft War,” International Journal of Communication, Vol. 6, 2012, pp. 2397–2415 (pp. 2397–2398, 2400–2401).
21) Robb, Charles S. (Senator) and Wald, Charles (General (ret.)), “The Price of Inaction: Analysis of Energy and Economic Effects of a Nuclear Iran,” Foreign Policy Project, National Security Program, Bipartisan Policy Center, Washington, October 2012, p. 20.
22) Susser, Asher, “Iran and the Arabs: The Historical Shift in the Balance of Power,” Tel Aviv: Strategic Assessment, Vol. 18, No. 3, October 2015,pp. 9–19 (p. 16).
23) Tata, Samir, “Recalibrating American Grand Strategy: Softening US Policies Toward Iran in Order to Contain China,” Parameters, Vol. 42, No.4/Vol. 43, No. 1, Winter-Spring 2013, pp. 47–58 (pp. 55–56).
24) Terrill, W. Andrew, Arab Threat Perceptions and the Future of the U.S. Presence Military in the Middle East (Carlisle, PA: Strategic Studies Institute,U.S. Army War College, October 2015), p. 26.
25) Ulrichsen, Kristian Coates, “Domestic Implications of the Arab Uprisings in the Gulf,” pp. 35–46, in Echagüe, Ana (ed.), The Gulf States and the Arab Uprisings (Spain: FRIDE, the Gulf Research Center, First published, 2013), p. 43.
26) Uskowi, Nader, “The Evolving Iranian Strategy in Syria: A Looming Conflict with Israel,” Issue Brief, Atlantic Council, Washington, September 2018, p. 1.
27) Vakil, Sanam, “Iran and the GCC, Hedging, Pragmatism and Opportunism,”Research Paper, Middle East and North Africa Programme,Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs, September 2018, p. 5.