Saudi Arabia’s patience with Iran wearing thin

Iran’s shady role in Yemen was never in doubt when Gulf and Arab forces launched a campaign in the country two years ago to oust the Houthi rebels. The developments in the impoverished country had followed a pattern with Tehran covertly supporting rebel movements and turning them into proxies by providing them with arms, funding and training to wage a war of ideology. Iran did it in Lebanon by nurturing the Hezbollah that now runs a parallel state within a state in which even the prime minister is in danger of the near and present kind. Saad Hariri resigned fearing for his life. In Syria, Iran put boots on the ground, and backed President Bashar Al Assad as troops fought alongside Hezbollah. Russia helped with air support, and resistance to the regime there has since been quelled violently, without mercy. The bloodletting continues, but Iran may have crossed a line with its aggressive policy.

Sunday’s firing of a missile into Saudi capital Riyadh by the rebels in Yemen was called an ‘act of war’ by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It was unusually strong language which could imply that GCC countries may have lost patience with the regime in Iran that sees export of terror as a means to an end in a region struggling to find its feet after so much bloodshed. This dangerous policy was put into motion post the Iranian revolution in 1979 which saw clerics taking positions of power and driving a sick ideology. The Houthi-fired missile was shot down by an interceptor and no casualties were reported, but the covert war is now in the open and there are fears of escalation. Until now, Gulf states showed restraint as Tehran tried to meddle in their affairs by supporting sectarian movements. Many such groups were unearthed and their members packed off to prison. This direct provocation by the Iranian proxy could be the last straw, and if Iran does not heed the warning signs, the writing is on the wall for the government in Tehran and its crony groups in the Middle East.