The Regional Deterrence System in The Persian Gulf and Its Impact On Iran-Saudi Arabia Relations

The Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia are the two major and
influential powers in the Persian Gulf region, so that the nature of their
relations has a great impact on the course of developments in the region.
Relations between the two countries have been strained in recent
years, especially after the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The
rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia has had implications for the
security of the Persian Gulf region and the Middle East, and has led to
the formation of friendship and enmity models and efforts to increase
influence in this critical region of the international system. Therefore,
the future of relations between the two countries in the Persian Gulf region
and its impact on regional security is an important issue. The most
important causes of tension in Riyadh-Tehran relations are the hegemonic
structure of the international system and the consequent model for
global restraining order , the position of the Persian Gulf region in the
international system as a scale-free regional network, and US intervention
in the region. The Persian Gulf region, as a scale-free regional network,
is governed by a special regional deterrence system based on the
world order model. In this region, the United States, as an intervening
power, uses unilateral deterrence against Iran and in support of Saudi
Arabia, and Iran uses network and triangular deterrence to increase its
power in the region and confront Saudi Arabia. As a result, the future of
Iran-Saudi relations has always been tense, but the two powers will not
engage in direct and military warfare.