Sunday Star-Times

Wider implicatio­ns across the region

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The deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to resume diplomatic ties has wide-reaching effects across the Middle East and beyond.

■ Yemen: Saudi Arabia and Iran are deeply embroiled in Yemen’s long civil war. Saudi Arabia entered the conflict in 2015, backing the country’s exiled government, while Iran has backed the Houthi rebels, who in 2014 seized the capital, Sanaa. Diplomats have been seeking a way to end the conflict, which has spawned one of the world’s worst humanitari­an disasters and has turned into a proxy war between Riyadh and Tehran.

■ Lebanon: Iran has long backed the powerful Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah, while Saudi

Arabia has backed the country’s Sunni politician­s. Easing tensions between Riyadh and Tehran could see the two push for a political reconcilia­tion as Lebanon faces an unpreceden­ted financial meltdown.

Syria: Iran has backed President Bashar al-Assad in his country’s long civil war, while Saudi Arabia has backed the rebels seeking to topple him. But in recent months, particular­ly after the recent earthquake that devastated both Syria and Turkey, Arab nations have moved closer to Assad. The diplomatic deal with Iran could make it more palatable for Riyadh to interact with Assad – and further strengthen the autocrat’s hand.

Israel: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has wanted to normalise relations with Saudi Arabia, but the deal with Iran, his longtime nemesis, will complicate this. It also could make Israel feel more alone if it decides to carry out a military strike against Iran’s nuclear programme as it creeps closer to weapons-grade uranium enrichment levels.

Iran: Iran has faced withering internatio­nal sanctions amid the collapse of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, and the Saudi deal could provide it with new avenues to skirt sanctions. Already, Iran has deepened its ties to Russia, and has armed Moscow with bomb-carrying drones in its war on Ukraine.

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