Explaining the Relations of Iran and Saudi Arabia within the Framework of Cold War

The 1979 Iranian revolution and coming into power of a Islamic Shiite government in Iran brought Iran and Saudi Arabia into an embittered rivalry. The later developments like fall of the Saddam following US led invasion in 2003, the establishment of a Shiite government in Iraq and the Arab uprising in 2011 further confronted Iran and Saudi Arabia. These developments divided the countries of the Middle East region into two groups on the basis of religious ideology. The question raised by the paper is "whether the competition between Iran and Saudi Arabia had led the two into a cold war in the Middle East region? The underlying hypothesis is that the regional competition between Iran and Saudi Arabia and the efforts of the two for bringing an equilibrium and strategic balance in the region has practically put both the countries in a rivalry situation and cold war. The paper uses descriptive-analytical framework to substantiate the hypothesis. The finding of the study shows that Iran and Saudi Arabia practically are in a state of cold war and the practical finding of the paper and suggestion is that Iran and Saudi Arabia should not close the diplomatic and negotiations channel because in the absence of diplomacy there is possibility that the management of relations may go out of hands of the statesmen and the military commanders may take control of the situation. In that case both the countries will face difficult and unpredictable conditions.