Saudi Arabia and Iran’s Rivalry is key to the Middle East in 2018

Another turbulent year in the Middle East has drawn to a close, but there will be no respite in 2018 from the regional chaos that is underpinned by the inflamed rivalry of Saudi Arabia and Iran. The young crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has consolidated power, embarking on an unprecedented cultural revolution and economic reforms in Riyadh, but his foreign policy ambitions have yet to bear fruit. Instead they will continue to sap lives and resources in neighboring Yemen, the Arab world’s poorest country, unless a political settlement is reached. That possibility appears farther away now with the death of Sana’a’s longtime strongman and president for 30 years Ali Abdullah Saleh, whose killing at the hands of Houthi rebels leaves the country with no clear end to the conflict. Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of backing the Houthis. Iran has its own domestic challenges to contend with. Hundreds of people have been arrested and at least 21 killed in the biggest challenge to the Islamic Republic’s ruling clerics in recent years, in a week of protests that began against rising prices and developed into broader demands for political change.