“Underlying all of this is how do we confront Iran’s interference in the affairs of the countries of the region,” the Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said before leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council met with President Barack Obama at Camp David this month. “We see Iran’s hand in Lebanon, in Syria, in Iraq. We see Iran’s hand in Yemen. We see Iran facilitating terrorist organizations, so the challenge is how do we collectively coordinate our efforts.”
“But Saudi Arabia and the other Sunni Arab states should not be so singularly obsessed with the danger posed by Shi’ite-led Iran. These states have other internal problems and economic worries to deal with, especially bulging youth populations and the lack of avenues for political expression. The House of Saud is facing a challenge from the militant group Islamic State, which carried out a suicide bombing last week that killed at least 21 worshippers at a Shi’ite mosque in the kingdom’s Eastern Province. The Saudi regime must also cope with the long-term consequences of declining revenue due to lower oil prices.”
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/05/28/why-the-biggest-threat-to-saudi-arabia-isnt-iran/
IR Theory & Practice 