And the problem spread all over the world. And what's the cost? We have been four decades dealing with Iran. Hezbollah is a Lebanon-based, transnational, Shiite Islamist terrorist organization founded by Iran in 1982. [317] As of 2018 Iran has become Iraq's top trading partner, with an annual turnover of approximately $12 billion USD compared to the US$6 billion in trade between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. [298], The war threatens Iran's position, and Saudi Arabia and its allies have sided with Sunni rebels in part to weaken Iran. Iraq and Lebanon Protests. ", "Bahrain arrests 5 suspects over late July blast, claims Iran's role discovered", "Saudi Arabia-Iran row spreads to other nations", "Saudi Arabia and UAE tell citizens to avoid Lebanon", "Saudi and UAE ban citizens from travelling to Lebanon", "Saudi, UAE, Kuwait urge citizens to leave Lebanon", "Saudi reopens Lebanon front in struggle with Iran", "Is Lebanon caught in a Saudi-Iran regional power play? In the past, Tehran might yet turn to Hezbollah or militias in Iraq, Syria or Yemen to carry out a terror act to give a layer of plausible deniability. The Arab Spring in 2011 destabilized three major regional actors, Iraq, Syria and Egypt, creating a power void. [280] Since then, Saudi Arabia and Russia have started to support each other in various conflicts in Syria and Libya, with Saudi Arabia supported Russian intervention in Syria, while Russia and Saudi Arabia have together backed Khalifa Haftar's forces in Libya. The organization is dedicated to spreading Islam and fostering Islamic solidarity under the Saudi purview, and has been successful in promoting Islam, particularly the conservative Wahhabi doctrine advocated by the Saudi government. In 1981, the front organization Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain led a failed coup attempt to install a Shia theocratic regime led by Hadi al-Modarresi. [299] In 2014, with no end in sight to the conflict, Iran increased its ground support for the Syrian Army, providing elite forces, intelligence gathering, and training. March 11, 2019. [219], Military tensions between Iran and the United States escalated in 2019 amid a series of confrontations involving the US, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. [14], Jordan has historically been on the Saudi bloc despite its slight rivalry. [268][269] Upon Qatar's rejection of these demands, the countries involved announced that the blockade would remain in place until Qatar changed its policies. But the situation in Lebanon and Iraq has also fueled Iranian suspicion that the U.S, Israel and Saudi Arabia are to blame for instigating the unrest, raising concern that Beirut and Baghdad may be caught in a U.S.-Iran proxy war. [121][126][127] Iran is largely Shia Muslim, while Saudi Arabia sees itself as the leading Sunni Muslim power.[128]. Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the United States, Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, Organization of Iranian American Communities, United States involvement in regime change, United States and state-sponsored terrorism, Opposition to military action against Iran, 1992 attack on Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, Assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists, Russia and the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting, 2014–2015 India–Pakistan border skirmishes, 2016–2018 India–Pakistan border skirmishes, Jammu and Kashmir insurgency (1989–present), Insurgency in Northeast India (1964–present), Naxalite–Maoist insurgency (1967–present), India–Pakistan border skirmishes (2014–2015), India–Pakistan border skirmishes (2016–2018), Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (2004–present), FULRO insurgency against Vietnam (1964–92), List of modern conflicts in the Middle East, Sectarian conflict in Mandatory Palestine, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iran–Saudi_Arabia_proxy_conflict&oldid=1022431522, Conflicts involving the People's Mujahedin of Iran, Foreign intervention in the First Libyan Civil War, Foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war, Articles lacking reliable references from April 2021, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using collapsible list with both background and text-align in titlestyle, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 10 May 2021, at 13:40. A proxy war is defined to be "a war fought between groups of smaller countries that each represent the interests of other larger powers, and may have help and support from these".