Saudi Arabia's opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran on the Iraqi political scene (2003-2018)

Iran and Saudi Arabia are two prominent actors in the Middle East and regional rivals. In this regard, Iraq is one of the important reflections of the competitive policies of Iran and Saudi Arabia in the region. The political and security developments in Iraq in 2003 led to an increase in the role and influence of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the country's political scene. In this regard, Saudi Arabia is trying to prevent the development of Iran's political and spiritual influence in Iraq while increasing its sphere of influence and expanding its geopolitical territory in Iraq. Therefore, the main goal of the research is to analyze the policies and mechanisms of Saudi Arabia in the face of this country's confrontation with the Islamic Republic of Iran in the field of Iraqi politics (2013-2003).

The present study, relying on the descriptive-analytical method and the context of the theory of threat balance, is an attempt to examine the various dimensions and angles of this issue.

The findings show that Saudi Arabia, following the defeat of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, with the aim of balancing Iran's regional power, has resorted to measures such as inciting Salafism, inciting insecurity in Iran's geopolitical realm and strengthening its defense base in order to prevent the growing power of Iran in Iraq; On the other hand, Iran is trying to strengthen its relations with post-ISIS Iraq to prevent the change of power equations in favor of its regional and international rivals, especially Saudi Arabia in this country.

The results of the research show; Saudi Arabia is pursuing a policy of controlling and controlling Iran's influence in the region, including Iraq, in order to restore its power and influence in Iraq, which has been accompanied by an increase in the scope of Tehran's influence in Iraq's politics since 2003 US-led invasion. And in this regard, inn a strategic alliance with its regional and trans-regional allies, it has adopted policies against Tehran's interests in the Iraqi political arena.