عربستان

China has been able to establish an effective network in the Middle East through the Digital Silk Road. The competition between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates plays a significant role in China's economic and geopolitical strategies. This research examines how the rivalry between these two countries influences China's position as the main actor in the Digital Silk Road and seeks to analyze China's behavioral patterns within this framework. The research question is: How does the competition between Saudi Arabia and the UAE in exploiting the opportunities of China's Digital Silk Road redefine the balance of power in their bilateral relations and in the Gulf region? According to the results, China's behavioral model is primarily economic, based on three key principles: sustainable mutual benefits, inclusivity, and networking. By applying these principles, China has aligned its internal economic needs with the conditions of host countries through the development of advanced technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, and digital infrastructure. In this context, the competition between Saudi Arabia and the UAE has created an opportunity for China to more effectively utilize regional capacities to strengthen its position. In addition to economic goals, this competition has allowed China to pursue political objectives, such as reducing the unilateral influence of the United States and promoting multilateralism. As a result, the Digital Silk Road has become a platform for complex economic and political interactions, where China has established its role as the main partner. This rivalry has also had profound effects on shaping a new regional order and enhancing technological cooperation between China and the Gulf countries.

China’s role in the relationship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia, as well as in the Middle Eastern security order, is a complex and multifaceted issue with significant implications for the geopolitical and security landscape of the region. As a signatory of the JCPOA and a major economic partner of Iran, China seeks to reduce tensions and promote stability in the Middle East through multilateral diplomacy and political mediation. Additionally, by meeting Iran's energy needs and investing in infrastructure projects, China has strengthened its strategic relationship with Tehran. These economic ties enable China to influence Iran’s nuclear policies. China also plays a calming role in the relationship between Tehran and Riyadh by offering economic opportunities to Saudi Arabia, leading to reduced tensions and enhanced regional stability. By emphasizing economic diplomacy and political mediation, China aims to prevent further crises and contribute to stability and security in the region. Consequently, China plays a crucial role in maintaining the Middle Eastern security order.

During the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, there were political, cultural, and economic relations between the two countries of Iran and Saudi Arabia. The main question of this research is: What were the political relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia like during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah? The cooperation of Iran as a military pillar and Saudi Arabia as a financial pillar and the alliance with the West and America, the suppression of movements opposing the existing status quo such as the Omani Communist Movement (Dhofar) had led to friendly political relations between the two countries. The cooperation of Iran as a military pillar and Saudi Arabia as a financial pillar and the alliance with the West and America, the suppression of movements opposing the existing status quo such as the Omani Communist Movement (Dhofar) had led to friendly political relations between the two countries. The two countries were among the largest oil producers in the world and founders and members of OPEC, and they exchanged views on stabilizing and fluctuating prices as well as the amount of oil production of this organization. There were not many cultural and economic relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, except for the issue of oil. Religious differences between the people of these two countries, the mistreatment of Iranian pilgrims by Saudi officials, and regional rivalries between these two countries have been among the reasons for the rivalry and hostility between these two countries during this period.

The tensions between the Arabs and the Israeli regime, which has been one of the most important issues in the field of international relations, has turned into cooperation between the parties since 2015. Iran, which considers the regime of Israel and some Arab countries as its enemy, in order to increase its influence and security in the West Asian region, has created an axis of resistance with the aim of deterring and creating security. Saudi Arabia and Israel consider Iran as a common threat. And they are trying to deal with it in the form of Iran-phobia, supporting terrorist groups, creating a challenge for Iran's regional allies, Shia-phobia, persuading America to withdraw from the JCPOA and normalize relations.Considering the special position of the two countries in the regional arena, the analysis of the future relations between the two countries has an undeniable necessity. The qualitative research method and the main problem of the descriptive-analytical approach will be investigated. The main question is that Tehran-Riyadh relations have a direct impact on the normalization of Arabs and Israel.The improvement of relations between Tehran and Riyadh has a direct effect on the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and the Israeli regime, which is proposed as a hypothesis. The results of the research show that confronting Iran's political-security influence in the region, forming a joint defense organization in the region, Shia-phobia, supporting extremist groups and influencing the withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA are among the consequences of the normalization of Saudi relations. It is with the Israeli regime that they will be seriously challenged by the improvement of the relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Iran and Saudi Arabia, as two key players in Southwest Asia, along with Turkey and the Israeli regime, are trying to increase their power and shape their desired geopolitical model in this geographical area. In this regard, this research, using the theory of "Thompson and Claremont", seeks to investigate the dimensions of the geopolitical competition between Iran and Saudi Arabia in Southwest Asia.

The method used in this research is "descriptive-analytical" and the method of collecting library and documentary information.

The results of the research according to the theory of Thompson and Clermont show that the geopolitical competition of two countries in Southwest Asia is in three dimensions "spatial competition, situational competition and ideological competition". In the space dimension, the competition between the two countries has been going on in important space centers in Southwest Asia such as Iraq, Bahrain, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon. In the situational dimension of the competition between the two countries, in the geostrategic dimension and trying to achieve their goals in the South West Asia region, there has been an effort to equip more military and economic competition in the form of selling energy resources and dominating the energy resources transmission corridors. In the ideological dimension, the main competition between the two countries has been in the field of religious competition in the form of Shiism and Wahhabism, and efforts to form alliances with other countries

The tension in the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, as two important countries, influencing and guiding the majority of developments in the Middle East, in addition to regional consequences, has been a topic of interest in the events of the international system. An annoying impasse that has improved after many struggles and its damages in various dimensions, including security damages in the Middle East. Accordingly, the following article intends to examine the factors leading to this convergence. The question that arises is that the normalization of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia was influenced by which factors? Although most of the experts have mentioned only limited dimensions, including the new policies of Saudi Arabia and specifically the economic or the change of government in Iran, as the factors of the normalization of the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, but the authors of the hypothesis presented are not effective in this matter and the hypothesis The research has been designed in such a way that the tension in the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia is influenced by dimensions such as the new reading of the ruling ideology of the two countries, the images of the new elites, as well as the incentives and the effective and positive role of regional and extra-regional actors in de-escalating tensions. In order to improve the space of past divergence, the procedure has been changed. The current research has been done in the framework of Zartman's conflict maturity approach, using documentary methods and using library and internet resources

Relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have fluctuated between conflict, competition and limited cooperation during the past few decades. Often, the competition and conflict of these two actors are analyzed based on ideological or geopolitical approaches and their cooperation based on regionalism theories and based on the structure of the international system, but the investigation of the understanding and perception of their political and military elites is mostly ignored. This research seeks to investigate the effect of these signals on the conflict, the prolongation of negotiations, the speed of recent agreements and the future of the relations between the two actors by examining the statements and behavior of the political-military elites of the two countries. The main question that is raised is: What effect did the signals sent by the political-military elites of Iran and Saudi Arabia have on their relations? In response to the above question, within the framework of signaling theory and with the method of qualitative content analysis, this hypothesis is proposed that: the signals sent by the political-military elites and the behavior of Iran and Saudi Arabia towards each other have caused the elites of the two countries to perceive threats based on have each other and this has led to prolonged negotiations and as a result intensifying competition and conflict between them and at other times these signals are based on cooperation and non-zero sum game that brings two actors closer to each other and agreements between They are formed. According to the experience of such ups and downs in sending signals, it is expected that the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia will fluctuate in the medium term with the transition from conflict to competition and limited cooperation

Order at different levels has always been one of the most central challenges and questions in the field of international relations. The West Asian region has always been the focus of experts' attention for many reasons, including its role in energy production, transit of goods and transit, and security crises. By raising the question of how to achieve a regional order in West Asia, this research looks for a possible model for regional order according to the developments of the international system.

The method used is explanatory-analytical approach and reference to library resources and data collection method based on statistics and international documents.

The effect of the withdrawal of the extra-regional powers and the creation of a power vacuum and the growth of the desire for economic development in the region are determining factors in the regional order and creates an opportunity window.

Based on the pattern of concert order and its characteristics, it is possible to reach arrangements in West Asia centered on Iran, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia.

The international system has observed China's rising power in recent years, as this country more assertively pursues its national interests globally. The Middle East is a region of significant importance to China. It attracts global powers, including China, because of its great contribution to the world's energy supply and its geostrategic position. Consequently, Saudi Arabia, as a principal power, plays a major role in China's foreign policy. This descriptive-analytical study employed desk studies as the data collection method to answer the following question: What are the components and challenges of China’s foreign policy towards Saudi Arabia? The general result of the research suggests that the main components forming China’s foreign policy towards Saudi Arabia are influenced by Saudi Arabia's guarantee of energy security, maintenance of stability in the Arabian Peninsula, support for the Belt and Road Initiative in this region, help in providing the security of the Silk Road maritime route in the Red Sea, alignment of the Persian Gulf States with China's foreign policy and their collaboration in fighting terrorist groups. In addition, the main challenges threatening China’s foreign policy towards Saudi Arabia are Iran's economic and political relations with China, Saudi Arabia's strategic relations with the US, and the unclear situation of Uyghur Muslims.

Throughout history, the relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia has had ups and downs, from cooperation and peaceful competition to hostility and severance of relations. Political, geopolitical, ideological factors and different views on regional issues have been among the most important influencing factors in the relations between the two countries, and the reflection of this conflict beyond bilateral relations has also been manifested on the approach of other countries, policies and regional developments. With the severing of relations between the two countries since 2016, the competition and conflict between the two countries increased, but finally, in a process of decreasing tension, with the mediation of China, in 2023, the de-tension approach was put on the agenda. Therefore, it is important to investigate the process of de-escalation of the relations between the two countries in this research. The main question is, what were the effective factors in de-escalating the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia? The framework of constructivist theory has been used to investigate the issue of de-tension. The findings of the research showed that the de-escalation of the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia was influenced by the change in the perception of the two actors towards various issues, which was influenced by the change in the perception in the regional order, which was due to the ineffectiveness of the confrontation system between the two countries in the region, the decline of American policies and the strengthening of China's role in the region refers; On the other hand, there has been a change in perception towards the strategic environment, which has moved the security equation of the two countries towards a win-win game with an algebraic sum of zero, and finally, the redefinition of national interests to prioritize internal development and bypass regional militarism policies.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently prioritized an orientation towards the East, with a particular focus on China posing a significant and influential challenge to the prevailing hegemon, the USA, within the global system. Similarly, Saudi Arabia's foreign policy has substantially shifted towards the East in recent years. In light of the pivotal roles that Iran and Saudi Arabia play in reshaping the regional landscape, this study aims to elucidate the underlying motives and outcomes of their foreign policy tendency towards China. Accordingly, the principal questions addressed in this paper are as follows: What is the logic behind the tendency towards China in the foreign policies of Iran and Saudi Arabia? What have been the outcomes? Based on the symbolic interactionism theory and the descriptive-analytical method, this study indicates that Iran's inclination towards China is an essential strategy driven by the perception of alliance with the East and animosity toward the West. However, the inclination of Saudi Arabia towards China is more of a tactical maneuver. In addition to reviving the attention of the West, this tactical maneuver serves to demonstrate Saudi Arabia’s self-help. The short-term outcome of such strategies adopted by Iran and Saudi Arabia was the cessation of their enmity and rapprochement.

With the Al-Aqsa Storm operation, a large-scale attack launched by Palestinian groups against Israel in October 2023, profound impacts were made on the relations between Israel and Arab countries. While Saudi Arabia is recognized as one of the key players in the region, this event led to shifts in its regional policies and diplomatic relations with Israel. Saudi Arabia, which had previously maintained covert security and economic ties with Israel, began to feel both internal and international pressures to adopt clearer stances towards Israel after the Al-Aqsa Storm. This study examines how the Al-Aqsa Storm led to a reassessment of Saudi policies, particularly in terms of political and economic interactions with Israel. Additionally, it analyzes how this attack may influence the process of normalizing relations between Arab countries and Israel and how it might alter the balance of power in the region. The article employs a descriptive-analytical approach and is based on library-based documentation.

Emotional analysis of international phenomena is a new approach in international relations, which is interpreted as an "emotional turn". This approach considers states as actors whose emotional motivations affect their actions and behaviors. The current research seeks to examine the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, focusing on the 2017-2021 crisis from an emotional perspective. Therefore, the question of the research is how Saudi emotional understanding of Qatar's regional behavior has affected the crisis in their relations in the period from 2017 to 2021. The authors present the answer to this question based on the assumption that Saudi Arabia has a special "dignity" and "credibility" for itself, and therefore expects "subordination" and "respect" from other Arab actors in the region. Based on this assumption, the article hypothesizes that the independent policies of Qatar and the change of Doha's policy from a subordinate actor to an active actor damaged Saudi Arabia's perception of itself as a state with high status and credibility and forced this country to adopt a policy punished against Qatar. In other words, Qatar's independent activism caused Saudi Arabia to see its status as an older brother in danger from a younger brother who violated his sanctity. As a result, this perception led to a crisis in the relations between the two countries in the mentioned period.

Yemen is the poorest Arab country in the world. The corruption of the government, the marginalization of the Houthis, and the inability of the government to meet the economic needs of the citizens of this poor Arab country have been burning in the fire of instability for more than a decade. This instability is such that the transfer of power in 2011 could not be a message of peace for this country, and finally, in 2015, the country entered into a devastating civil war. This research, using the descriptive-analytical method, has tried to investigate the roots of the crisis in Yemen and the constructive role of Iran in ending this conflict. The results of the research show that the Islamic Republic of Iran evaluates the developments in Yemen in the form of Islamic awakening, which reduces the influence of the West in the region. Therefore, the Islamic Republic of Iran is concerned about the efforts of Saudi Arabia to manage the developments in Yemen and to empower the affiliated currents and demands that all religious and political currents play a role in the future of this country. What is important for Iran is, firstly, to play a constructive role in the developments of this country to solve the existing challenges towards the understanding of political groups, and secondly, to support its allies to prevent their forced exit from the power scene.

The West Asian region is known as one of the geopolitical areas at the global level, where the actors of this regional system always experience relations with tension, crisis and conflict. It has been institutionalized in the form of deep and comprehensive conflicts. Iran, having its own security system, is one of the important players in this regional environment. By playing an active and dynamic role, it has always adopted a collective, constructive and restorative approach in order to create maximum stability and comprehensive peace, while respecting the interests and accepting the role of other actors, which is placed in the form of a game with a positive and double sum. In contrast to the two actors of Saudi Arabia and the Zionist regime in Qallab, a very complex and non-constructive cooperation, with maximum coordination and alignment, have adjusted and redesigned their actions in order to eliminate the interests and strategic role of Iran. The confrontational approach of these two The country is placed in the form of a game with a negative and zero sum. Yemen plays a balancing role in the security system of Iran as a strategic ally in front of the two countries. which guarantees the presence and stabilizes the strategic survival of Iran in the strategic environment and the course of modern regional developments (from the Islamic awakening to the Al-Aqsa storm)

Saudi Arabia and Iran are two major and decisive countries in the Middle East region and have experienced ups and downs in relations. These two countries are facing challenges in their foreign policy, and these challenges have caused both countries to not have good relations due to being neighbors. The basic question of this article is what are the main factors influencing the relations between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran? In response to this hypothesis, it is proposed that the most important influencing factors in the relations between the two countries include the formation of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the end of the imposed war, the September 11 incident, Islamic awakening, geoeconomics and energy resources, Shia geopolitics, Iran's achievement of Nuclear energy, the security approach of the two countries, regional and international developments such as the coming to power of Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia and the role of extra-regional powers in the relations between the two countries. This article aims to analyze the pattern of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia after the Islamic Revolution of Iran until 1402. The results of the research show that the pattern of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia after the Islamic Revolution has been rotating from confrontation to interaction and vice versa from interaction to confrontation.

According to convergence theory, whose famous theorists are Raymond Aron and John Kenneth Galbraith, Great powers, despite their ideological differences, probably have similar behavior to each other regarding issues related to national security and maintaining interests. So, Iran and Saudi Arabia should be aware that being strong and cooperating is the only option for a bright future for these two countries and consequently the Middle East region. In this context, the author believes that everything that is happening in our region today is a background for the new order. From Brexit, widespread protests in Iran, and the coming to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and shadow of Saudi Arabia over Yemen, to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Azerbaijan's control over Karabakh, and the control of a significant amount of the Gaza Strip by the Zionist regime. And what is important in the meantime is Iran's appropriate action to stay out of this competition. At the individual level of analysis, both countries have the main decision maker in the form of (leader / king). In terms of the region, it should be stated that these two can have the greatest impact on the security of the region. At the global level, America's focus from the Persian Gulf to the Asia Pacific can provide space for the creation of a bloc led by these two in the region with global influence. Iran and Saudi Arabia must be aware that the new world order is happening and all countries will pursue their interests at this time, and in the meantime, any country that falls into the trap of "internal unrest and foreign war" will be the loser in the future. As a future study if the purpose of the research is to identify and evaluate the causal relationships and influence between factors, the structural method is more suitable, but if the purpose of the research is to produce and evaluate several different scenarios for the future, the extension method is more suitable. In this research, we present a combination of these two. In fact in this research, we identified the main drivers using the MicMac software, then obtained different scenarios using the morphological matrix, and finally we presented our prescriptive analytics and outlined the ways to achieve it. The integrated (interdisciplinary) method tells us that since no single method has been able to be sufficient or complete on its own, it is better to use all possible methods to reach more convincing results and possibly discover the truth. So it can be concluded that the combination of realism and constructivism will have a favorable and balanced result. Whose foundations can be seen in the theory of realist constructivism, this approach can use cause and effect analysis and structural analysis in international relations and thus be an analytical and critical approach. In fact, flexibility can help us a lot, as Samuel Barkin uses this example in his book: In the sociology of science, paradigms are a bit like castles. The scientists are the knights in this metaphor, and the assumptions are the lords that the knights / scientists are sworn to defend. The strength of a paradigm can be measured by the number of scientists willing to defend its ramparts. Scientists tend to stay true to their assumptions, so that model castles successfully defend their inhabitants, until those inhabitants die. In this metaphor, one is more concerned with defending one's (fortress / paradigm) and defeating others than with building a bridge between them. In other words, the paradigms are different from each other and in conflict with each other, and we seek to overcome this issue. What can be obtained from the historical investigation as well as the observation of current issues is that the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia have been influenced by various factors such as culture, religion, politics, economy and regional interests since ancient times. In general, the following three cases can be considered as the main turning points between the two countries. 1. The series of Arab-Iranian wars in the 7th century AD and the influence of Islam in Iran following the established communications. 2. The establishment of the Safavid government in the 16th century and the declaration of Shiism as the official religion of the country. 3: The impact of pan-Arabism movements and the Iranian revolution in the 20th century. In general, by examining the historical and contemporary relations of the two countries, we reached a set of events, trends, variables and actors. And finally, by examining the impact of these things on each other, we reached the drivers by which we were able to extract scenarios and finally presented our prescribed scenario and the solutions to achieve it. It should be noted that after the mutual influence of 54 components on each other, the overall result was as follows: America is the most prominent actor (influential variable) in this case. The nuclear deal is very important. The role of communication developments can be influential in the future. The role of the Iranian society as a defeated actor is weak in these conflicts. Finally, we present the recommendation of this research in the form of a short story. In 2028, Iran and Saudi Arabia reached an unprecedented level of cooperation and friendship. They solved the old problems and established a bloc like the European Union with a new approach by reducing dependence on oil. America also supported this process and canceled all sanctions in order not to lose its superior position over China. The resistance axis countries also achieved acceptable stability following the de-escalation of tensions, and the neighboring Arab countries improved their relations with Iran, and the Middle East region began its new path. In the best case, the future of the two countries is stable competition and cooperation, and in the worst case, Iran will become weaker and more normal every day under Saudi Arabia, and finally, at the point of desperation, they will lead to a military conflict. In fact, what is considered desirable from the point of view of this prescriptive future research lies behind the issue that Iran and Saudi Arabia achieve convergence with each other, a convergence that both of them are at the peak of power, and finally we get the following results The two strong twin countries of Iran and Saudi Arabia will create peace and sustainable development in the region if they converge. The roots of proxy wars and terrorist acts will dry up. The problem of Palestine and Israel will be solved. It is in the interest of Iran and Saudi Arabia to take full control of the Persian Gulf together so that not only the hands of the western countries are cut short, but also a vacuum is not created. Creating an economic bloc that creates balance and benefit in the relationship between East and West.

India is one of the emerging powers of the world, which in the past decade has developed its relations with the countries of the West Asian region. The developments in West Asia since 2010 have presented India with important and serious problems in the formulation of its foreign policy in the Western region. In terms of coherent strategic choices, Asia faced the complex staircase of regional power competitions and the interventionist return of great powers and casting a shadow on the power game in the region.Most of India's relations with the Arab countries of the West Asian region have been expanded based on economic benefit, in such a way that more than 10 million Indians live and work in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf and send more than 40 billion dollars to India annually. On the other hand, the Arab countries of the region are the biggest suppliers of energy needed by India.Although India is the largest democracy in the world, it has accepted the monarchy system in the Arab countries of the region as the principle of political stability. Despite some special principles of India's foreign policy, we have witnessed the movement of this country's foreign policy towards West Asia in the past 9 years.Therefore, the question arises, what position does the Arab pole of West Asia have in the foreign policy of the Narendra Moodi government? India's foreign policy is based on two diplomatic-strategic programs based on logic and bilateral economic benefits with the Arab pole of West Asia, whose ultimate goal is to establish stability in the entire West Asian region.

China pursues its economic, cultural, and political opportunities with a multidimensional approach in West Asia as one of the centers of power and wealth. China's effective presence in West Asia has created a new balance of power against Western countries' interventions in regional relations. This research aims to compare and examine China's relations and interactions with Iran and Saudi Arabia in two macroeconomic-commercial and security-political fields, and it raises the question of what approach China should adopt towards Iran and Saudi Arabia in view of these relations. To answer this question, China's interests and relations in the two mentioned fields and with Iran and Saudi Arabia were examined. The proposed hypothesis is that China's economic, military and political interests in West Asia have caused China to take a mediating approach and detente policy in relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia as two key actors in the region. The results of this study suggest that although the regional geopolitical competition between Iran and Saudi Arabia complicated things for China at times, this country succeeded in de-escalating tensions in its approach to regional developments, especially the competition between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The present paper is a descriptive analysis using the documentary and library resources.

China's Middle East policy at the intersection of regional interests and global power rivals is highly dependent on the benefits and costs of strategic competition of regional actors, especially Iran and Saudi Arabia. When it comes to China's Middle East policies, it is referred to as an opportunistic actor who has almost no political or security investment in this region and enjoys the peace that the United States and Europe have brought without challenge to advance its policies. Interestingly, this vision of economic interests is the core of China's developmental peace in the Middle East. However, China's mediation in the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia has been considered a turning point in entering the regional dynamics of the Middle East. Therefore, this paper tries to answer how China, which has been a marginal actor in regional political and geopolitical affairs, participates in regional interactions. And what effect does it have on the regional order? The main argument, relying on the network approach, is that China's entry into regional power dynamics through initiatives such as global security initiatives and constructive intervention diplomacy will cause the power to leave the bilateral to the network state. The research findings based on the explanation method show that to understand the dynamics and complexity of the Middle East regional environment, we must change the view of world politics from "chessboard" to "network" to find suitable analytical tools to improve the position of units in the networked world.