ALBAWABA - Just what is happening on the Iran-Saudi front is baffling many an observer can be heard as saying. One day Riyadh and Tehran are trying to hitch it together, another time, like now, they are virtually at each others' throats judging from the media and social platforms chatter who maybe not entirely convinced with one, two, or three in a gleeful mood.
The heightened concerns about a potential attack on Saudi Arabia as the Biden administration is criticizing Tehran for its crackdown on widespread protests and condemning it for sending hundreds of drones. https://t.co/dsqTDBijqJ
— KWQC TV6 News (@kwqcnews) November 3, 2022
Everyone thought the Saudis and Iranians were talking to each other; they have been in a diplomatic chit-chat for since 2021, with Iraq as the go-between, carefully bringing the two sides in delegations to possibly re-establish diplomatic relations long been frozen since 2016 when Iranians ransacked the Saudi Consulate in Mashhad as a protest to Riyadh's execution of a top Shia cleric by the name of Nimr Al Nimr.
would be a shame if Iran and Saudi Arabia's governments were to completely collapse during this conflict and needed to be replaced by a superpower with interest in the region pic.twitter.com/TK9eGsEoaS
— DaSkrubKing (@DaSkrubKing) November 2, 2022
Has things changed today many are wondering. The current troubles shouldn't be the business of anyone but Tehran and no other regional state or party.
As Saudi-Iran negotiations first started on 9 April 2021 and with continual meetings thereafter, things brightened up and everyone thought the two sides would bury the hatch it as it where, especially with the change in the US administration from the abrasive Republican Donald Trump to Joe Biden who won the US presidential election and is now saddled in the White House with talk of the possibility of the revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Though that seems to be going nowhere.
It was the United States that saved Saudi Arabia from Saddam Hussein of Iraq,and continued to protect them from Iran attack.The Saudis have joined Russia to hurt the U.S interest, time to let them defend themselves. They fear democracy as Putin/Russia and Trump.They're terrorists https://t.co/3pXiI0FZO5
— JOE BLESSINGS (@psalmsgood) November 2, 2022
Talks continued between the Iranians and Saudis with windows of opportunities discussed at length. Despite the lack of progress delegates from both countries continued to meet with ups and downs. Tension flared up however last September 2021 when Mahsa Amini died in a Tehran police station and followed by nationwide demonstrations in the country.
These continued in the subsequent months with the international community, including the Biden administration, condemning the crackdown by the Iranian authorities on the protesters.
LOL, Saudi Arabia ratchets up oil prices and now wants our help against Iran?
— Eskaver (@toronai22) November 2, 2022
Not only do I not believe them, I firmly believe we shouldn’t send them anything. We should have already retracted aid and intel we provide them. https://t.co/8pXRsaj8tH
Later on, and today, in fact this past month Iranian officials from different quarters started to accuse Saudi newspapers of inciting demonstrators and event stoking protests and called for them to stop through different channels. But this has been to no avail. Then, recently and made blatantly clear that the Iranians are planning some sort of attack on Saudi Arabia and its eminent.
Iran is planning an “imminent attack” on Saudi Arabia and an Iraqi city where American troops are based, prompting the US to raise its military alert level. https://t.co/ytXxJZNDxs
— Dr. Reza Parchizadeh (@DrParchizadeh) November 1, 2022
The social media have been rife with the news that is spreading that Saudi intelligence has shared information that it is on the verge of being attacked by Iran but officials in Tehran have denied the report as "baseless". However, Washington quickly responded by saying it will be on the ready for any possible action.
