What lies behind the troubling Saudi/Iranian agreement?

Editor’s Note: This episode of Behind the Headlines features an interview with CSP Senior Analyst David Wurmser discussing the new Saudi/Iranian agreement. Wurmser’s interview takes place 21:55-31:47

In this week’s edition of Behind The Headlines, we will be discussing the new Chinese brokered agreement between two sworn enemies in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Iran. This new agreement could threaten the warming of relations between the Saudis and Israeli and the progress of the Abraham Accords.

The real danger with this agreement is that China is now filling the political vacuum that has been left by the absence of American influence the Middle East and the demonisation of the Saudi kingdom by the Biden administration.

We shall be discussing how China has become the strong horse in the region, that will be a malign force that will encourage extremism and violence against the forces of moderation and progress in the region. China has signed a twenty-five-year strategic agreement with the Iranian in 2021 and last year this was followed by a six-year agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The Saudi- Iran agreement reflects a troubling decline of American power and influence in the region that endangers US allies like Israel and the Gulf States and could even threaten the development and progress of the Abraham Accords.