The much-publicized kiss the new Saudi ambassador to Iran, Abdulrahman bin Garman Al Shahri, bestowed on former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani on April 22, and the recent Saudi diplomatic outreach to Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, have set off speculation about a potential thaw in the two countries’ icy relations. But the gestures should not be viewed as a Saudi policy reorientation toward what Riyadh still views as a revolutionary Islamic Republic of Iran. The Saudis appear to be changing their tactics, probably at the behest of the U.S., but not their regional objectives of rolling back Iranian involvement in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon.
Read Full Article »
