Saudi Arabia Provoked Iran To Cover Economic Woes, Analysts Say

"Its economy is suffering considerably from the low cost of petroleum, which, for complex reasons, Riyadh itself is helping to maintain," said Hussien Ibish, published senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, Hussien Ibish. "Current tensions with Iran don't bode well for stability of oil pricing either. This economic pressure on the Saudi social and political system may help to explain the timing of the executions." he added.

According to Seyed Hossein Mousavian, former head of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Supreme National Security Council in Iran, nuclear negotiator and current visiting scholar at Princeton University, Iranian hardliners played into Saudi Arabia's hands by attacking their Saudi Embassy in Tehran after the executions on Jan. 2, according to Seyed Hossein Mousavian, former head of Iran's the Foreign Relations Committee of the Supreme National Security Council in Iran, nuclear negotiator and currently a visiting scholar at Princeton University.

Mousavian said the attack on the Embassy was fueled by the Iranian hardliners in Iran to expand their influence.

"The timing of the executions are intended to both divert attention away from Saudi domestic woes, but also to address what Riyadh considers to be a real foreign policy problem: Iran's perceived influence in the region," said Dina Esfandiary, research associate and MacArthur fellow in at the Centre for Science and Security Studies, at King's College London.

"Its not secret that Riyadh was not supportive of the nuclear deal [agreed last year between Iran, the US and five other world powers] and fears for what it will mean for both Iran's regional influence, but also Riyadh's relations with the West," she said. "Stoking sectarianism to provoke Iran is a useful tool for this. And of course, Iranian hardliners walked right into that trap. Today, however, Iran is trying to de-escalate the crisis." she added.

The timing of the execution of Shia Shiite cleric Nimir Aal-Nimr and 46 others is to can be attributed to a number of reasons, saidaccording to Shehab Aal-Makahleh, a political analyst and director of Geostrategic Media Middle East.

"The economic situation presents a reason to announce the execution at this time, which will lead to further political rift that would increase oil prices for both Saudi and other oil producers to yield more benefits and revenues, especially after Saudi Arabia last week announced planned cuts in spending and energy subsidies, a signal that the world's largest crude exporter is bracing for a prolonged period of low oil prices," Aal-Makahleh said.

He stressed that wWhen the Saudi budget was announced with a high deficit, he said, itthis has upset many Saudis who sought further justifications for this deficit and the lifting of subsidies.

The execution, also,is loomed serves as an acid test for the new 34-state Islamic military alliance against terrorism which was announced on Dec. 14, Aal-Makahleh said, as well as and is a test for the newly born "strategic coalition" between Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

In addition to those reasons, tThe further deterioration in political and diplomatic ties between Riyadh and Tehran also will affect the coming Yemeni dialogue which is slated for to be held Jan. 14, most likely in Oman, and the coming talks between the Syrian opposition and the Syrian government on Jan. 25, al-Makahleh concluded said.

According to Ibish, the Saudi attitude, as expressed in the executions and subsequent policy decisions, appears to be highly confident, if not brash.

Other states, including Sudan and Bahrain, have joined Saudi Arabia in breaking ties with Tehran, including Sudan and Bahrain. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, however, only downgraded their ties to Iran while fully maintaining trade links.

Despite the high-browed statements from Saudi Arabia and Iran, Esfandiary said that the situation will not be escalated to the point of leading evolve into a hot war.

"Neither side wants that," she said. "But both sides will evacuate frustrations vis-à-vis one another through the use of their regional proxies. It will also make resolving regional conflicts such as Syria and Yemen more difficult, given that they can only be resolved through Saudi-Iran dialogue." she said.

Mousavian said suggested that the best way to resolve the current tensions would be through US involvement.

In Washington, the White House called on Saudi Arabia and Iran to de-escalate their conflict. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Tuesday Jan. 5 that it was not in the interest of the Saudi or Iranian leaders of Saudi Arabia or Iran "to continue to foment the kind of violence that often leads to radicalization and terrorism."

Earnest said the White House was hopeful the rift would not endanger two strong US interests, the Syria talks and efforts to counter the Islamic State group, also referred to as ISIL or Daesh. It tookhad taken "a lot of painstaking diplomacy to bring Iran and Saudi Arabia into this process several months ago," which Earnest said succeeded because the two nations' leaders "concluded it was in the interest of their country and their citizens to try to resolve the political situation inside of Syria."

US Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., in the wake of the executions, released a statement supporting Saudi Arabia as "one of America's closest and oldest partners" and condemning Iran's reaction to the executions as "outrageous and dangerous." He said the US can question the justice of the action and still stand with the predominately Sunni Arab nation Saudi Arabia "to confront the terrorism of ISIL and its affiliates as well as the aggression and hypocrisy of the Iranian government."

McCain, a frequent critic of President Barack Obama's national security policy, blamed escalating tensions between Riyadh and Tehran — and "increased diplomatic tensions, growing regional security competition, new arms races, and possibly nuclear proliferation" — on the perception that the US is withdrawing from the region after decades of policies intended to defuse an open war.

"Our allies and partners have entrusted much of their own security to the United States because they have believed that our commitments were credible," McCain said. "But this Aadministration's hollow words, imaginary red lines, and leading from behind have steadily eroded that credibility. Increasingly, our allies and partners question America's commitment to their security, and as a result, are taking matters into their own hands."

He added that he is not aware of anything that is going to affect the fight against ISIL and the efforts of the coalition. "We're moving forward and we would hope that those partners that you mentioned will continue to move forward with us, and we see no indication they're not."