Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi's divergent influence on Iran-Pakistan relations (1991-2018) based on constructivism theory

 The Tension in relations between the two influential Islamic countries, Iran and Saudi Arabia, have affected relations between Iran and the Islamic world, including Pakistan's neighboring Islamic State. Between 1991 and 2018, the Saudi actions, which stemmed from the influence of the country's norms, ideas and beliefs on foreign policy, had a negative impact on relations between Iran and its important eastern neighbor. Saudi Arabia that perfecting the leadership of the Islamic world, inspired by the teachings of Wahhabism and its anti-Shiite rhetoric, has diverted relations between Iran and Pakistan. Supporting Salafi groups and currents inside Pakistan and financially feeding the Iranian opposition in Balochistan have been major policies of the Saudis for the past thirty years.Relations between Iran and Pakistan are very important for our country's foreign policy and how we can have a close relationship with that country, despite the many problems. Identifying one of the main causes of divergence and disruption in Iran-Pakistan relations is one of the main goals of the present study. Foreign policy agents and decision makers can be informed of the various dimensions of the impact of Saudi Arabia's actions on Pakistan and Iran 's behavior towards each other, using the findings of the article. This research also puts the production of necessary literature for academics at the forefront of its goals. Using constructivism theory, this paper seeks to answer the question of how the intellectual and ideological structures that govern Saudi foreign policy have affected Iran-Pakistan relations. 

 The research method in the present study is analytical-descriptive. Depending on the nature and type of subject matter being studied, information is collected using library-documentary tools. Accordingly, in order to analyze the extracted information and evaluate the hypothesis and finally answer the research question, in the method of qualitative analysis, library examples have been used as a criterion and criterion for evaluation. The data used in this study are qualitative and these data can be converted to a smaller number, so they are analyzed in the same way that they were collected. In this qualitative data, most of the objectives were to describe the subject. The present study is also a cross-sectional study and covers the period 1991 to 2018. During this period, due to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the spread of Islamic fundamentalism in the world, relations between neighboring countries in the Middle East and Southwest Asia have undergone fundamental changes.

One of the areas where Iran and Saudi Arabia are at loggerheads over these issues and seek to expand their influence is the subcontinent and Pakistan. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Saudi aid to Central Asian countries and its connection with the region is provided through Pakistan. The two countries are also working together to resolve the Afghan crisis. During the Afghan war, when Pakistan was in dire need of Saudi aid, the monarchy widely supported Pakistan. Saudi religious associations and circles entered Pakistan with the motive of promoting and helping Afghan Mujahideen and immigrants, as well as assisting religious groups inside Pakistan (Mohammad Sharifi, 2004: 223).Saudi religious circles have focused their major investments on establishing schools and mosques. These schools entertained the teachings of traditional Islamic thought by Ibn Taymiyyah, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, and Shah Wali Allah. Inside Pakistan, Saudi-influenced schools supported Saudi Arabia's militant stance against Iran. Due to the increasing power of such schools, the wave of violence and opposition to Iranian-backed revolutionary Islamists has intensified. In fact, Saudi Arabia stepped in in the early 1980s to counter Iran's influence on Pakistani Shiites. (Abbas,2010:56)The Saudi government, along with Pakistan, provided financial and military support to the Taliban movement. Saudi Arabia had two main motives in support of the Taliban: First, Saudi Arabia considers itself the center of the Islamic world and considers helping Muslims a kind of religious duty. The second motive was to compete with Iran's growing influence in Afghanistan and Central Asia and to isolate Iran, which considers itself the center of the Islamic world (Massoudnia & Najafi, 2011: 106) .

 All in all, the Saudi government's identity-building foundations, which have been formed in interaction with the Shiite government of Iran, have led the country to pursue a counter-revolutionary policy toward Iran since the early 1980s. Saudi Arabia's identity is at odds with the role Iran plays in these areas. The most important point of Iran's confrontation with Saudi Arabia is in the field of the Islamic world. In this regard, Iran has challenged the identity, political and religious legitimacy of the Saudi government. Hence, Saudi Arabia opposes any move by Iran in the region.According to the current events in West Asia, efforts to spread sectarianism in the region will not be out of the question. The spread of sectarianism as a tool is that Saudi Arabia is directly spread through the schools, Deobandi supporter of Wahhabism, and the financial support and arms from the group, the cult-oriented in combating the influence of the Shiites in the region led by Iran.The issue of sectarianism and the spiritual influence of the Iranian revolution in Pakistan strengthened radical forces in Pakistan. Following this issue, the Arab countries and Pakistan also stimulate the Iranian minority. This factor has made Tehran very sensitive to sectarian issues. As a significant population of Sunnis lives in Iran's border provinces and is somewhat ethnically and culturally diverse, Iran's sensitivity to the issue has increased. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan's influence on Iranian Sunnis has expanded in recent years. On the other hand, the revival of the Baloch nationalist movement in Pakistan since 2004 has become a source of threat to the country's internal security and Iran's national security.Saudi Arabia is seeking to form a coalition with Pakistan and is trying to have a strategic ally in the shadow of the United States to continue its rule without the support of the people in the region. Riyadh is also trying to turn Pakistan into a backyard to use its shared borders with Iran to counter its anti-Iranian plans.Pakistani officials are somewhat confused about the choice between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Despite the need for Saudi financial aid, Pakistan cannot ignore Iran's strategic position in the region. They want to have a smooth relationship with Iran, which is economically, security-wise and anthropologically important for Islamabad, but Al-Saud does not. Another important factor in Islamabad's approach is the crossing of the rope between Saudi Arabia and Iran, following the sharp differences between the two countries. In such a situation, Pakistani officials have visited Iran and are trying to improve bilateral relations by playing a neutral mediating role.