Willy Fautré
Every picture tells a story. This one is quite clear. In the now region-wide war between the US-Israel and Iran, Saudi Arabia has been let off the hook. The question is, why has Iran aimed only a fraction of its assault at what was once its biggest rival in the region?
Iran is sparing Riyadh the worst not because it lacks the capability but because it now has more to gain from holding back. The fragile détente brokered by China between the countries in 2023—in which they agreed to reopen diplomatic relations and stop actively sabotaging each other’s core interests, has offered benefits to both sides. Iran, fighting on multiple fronts with a constrained drone and missile industrial base, and needing to prioritise where to spend scarce hardware and political capital, is able to conserve kinetic energy. Bludgeoning Saudi Arabia would risk blowing up a working arrangement that currently serves both sides better than open confrontation.
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