A pragmatic Sunni alliance in the Middle East is getting stronger as ties between two regional powers—Egypt and Saudi Arabia—have grown even stronger in recent weeks. The possible rapprochement of Qatar to this alliance represents a potentially significant boost to efforts to prevent Iran from achieving hegemony in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt share common interests in the Middle East. The two, as well as the United Arab Emirates, have declared the Muslim Brotherhood movement to be a terrorist organization. In addition, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are mostly Sunni countries and see Iran a major Shiite rival in the struggle for supremacy in the region.
In recent months, Saudi Arabia has helped Egypt repay the huge debts Cairo accrued over the instability of the past few years. Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, and Kuwait have provided some $20 billion in aid to Egypt since the fall (Arabic link) of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood president, Mohammed Morsi. This economic dependence of Egypt on Saudi Arabia strengthened political relations between the two countries. As a result, Egypt has adopted the Saudis’ anti-Iranian policy, creating a very strong moderate Arab axis against Iran and other radical elements in the Middle East.
In addition, Cairo and Riyadh discussed recently the creation of a military pact to counterbalance Shiite-dominated Iran. These discussions reflect a greater assertiveness among the Middle East’s Sunni powers to fight extremists
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has repeatedly referred to the security of his Gulf Arab allies as a “red line” and integral to Egypt’s own security, hinting that he would be willing to utilize military forces. Shortly after Sisi left the military to run for president this year, he inaugurated an elite rapid deployment force and later cryptically said that the Gulf region was “only a short distance away” from Egypt.
More generally, in recent months Saudi Arabia and Egypt have been working hard to reestablish (Arabic link) the old alliance of Arab moderate states against Iran that was active at the time of Hosni Mubarak. This alliance was openly encouraged by Washington and tacitly by Israel.
A recent survey (Arabic link) conducted in the Middle East showed that most Egyptians and Saudis believe that Iran plays a negative role in the region. In addition, three out of every four citizens in both countries believe that Iran’s nuclear program is intended for military purposes and not for peaceful purposes. Most of them do not think that negotiating with Iran on its nuclear program is a good idea.
Another military aspect alarming Egypt and Saudi Arabia is the Iranian presence in the southern Red Sea. Iran sees the Red Sea as a strategic tipping point in the Middle East, especially for gaining a foothold in the heart of the Arab security zone. Iran’s navy commander said this week that Iran intends to keep its warships in the area “forever.”
Egypt recently spotted two Iranian warships moving in the Gulf of Aden, a busy international shipping traffic route near the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb that is a key shipping lane for oil ships. There is strong cooperation between Cairo and Riyadh to reduce these movements before it’s too late, said Egyptian political science professor Tarek Fahmi (Arabic link).
Another two countries are seen as threats to Cairo and Riyadh: Libya, where Islamic militants have taken over several cities, and Yemen, where Shiite rebels suspected of links to Iran have seized control of the capital. Moreover, Egypt and Saudi Arabia have increasingly come to realize that Sunni Islamic movements such as ISIS and al-Qaeda are a common threat.
[Photo: Aswat Masriya / YouTube ]