The immediate reaction was quite harsh, with hundreds of Iranians protesting against sectarian provocation and some even torching Saudi diplomatic establishments in the country. Riyadh’s counter-reaction was equally swift, and it cut all political and economic ties with Tehran.
In varying degrees, this was followed by Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Sudan, Djibouti, and Somalia, in what looks to be a cookie-cutter response of solidarity from the Saudis’ supposed “anti-terrorist” coalition. With tensions skyrocketing between the Saudi-let Sunni bloc and Shiite Iran, it looks as though the sectarian tension in the Mideast has regretfully become an institutionalized part of the regional political picture.
Sergei Oznobischev, Director of the Institute for Strategic Assessments (studio guest); Andrew Hammond, Mideast policy fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations, Author of the The Illusion of Reform in Saudi Arabia (based in London); Ali Rizk, independent Middle East expert (based in Beirut); and Hasan Selim Ozertem, security expert and a researcher at the International Strategic Research Organization(based in Ankara) shared their views.
