Iran-Saudi Arabia: A Plan for Detente with a Focus on Regional Conflicts

Iran and Saudi Arabia have been two regional competitors in the history. However, since the events of the Arab Spring and especially those in Syria, Bahrain and Yemen on the one hand and signing JCPOA between Iran and the P5 + 1 on the other hand, the competition has turned into hostility and contributed to the severance of diplomatic relations between the two countries. This study considers the objective issues arising from geopolitical factors and regional interests as the reason of confrontation between the two countries, and immaterial factors such as identity and ideology are only exacerbating the mentioned conflict.
The most important factor in reducing tensions between Iran and Saudi is a shared understanding on regional and geopolitical interests. Negotiations between the two countries to recognize each other's sphere of influence in the region could be the first step to detente. Therefore, it is suggested that Iran prioritizes some crises (such as Syria and Iraq) and Saudi Arabia gives priority to Bahrain and Yemen crises to recognize the influence of each other in these countries and resolve their disputes. Mediation between the two countries by Oman could pave the ground for related negotiations.