Sunni - Shia Divide: Ancient Schism brings about Modern Diplomatic Crisis

This incident happens amid the proxy wars happening between the two Islamic powers in Syria and Yemen, where Saudi Arabia backs Sunni interests while Iran backs Shia interests. The high-profile executions have led to a series of attacks on Sunni establishments (including mosques and the Saudi Arabian embassy) within Iran. In response, Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic and economic ties with Iran on Sunday. The situation continues to be exacerbated as well, since Saudi Arabia’s allies in Bahrain and Sudan have also downgraded relations with the Shia republic.

This puts United States interests into focus, as Saudi Arabia is one of the country’s biggest allies within the regions, despite the controversial and well-documented humanitarian concerns within the Gulf kingdom. Iran has grown in power as the fall of other countries such as Iraq and Syria (although the latter being an ally of Iran) gives the Shia-majority country a newfound sense of importance in the region. This is of course at odds with the Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who are long-time rivals with Tehran. These events also come only months after the United States struck a nuclear deal with Iran, another step in diplomatic reconciliation between the two countries with which Saudi Arabia had objected to.

Michael Skok
Political Editor