Iran and Saudi Arabia

Today Instapundit links to a strategy page article about Iran and Saudi Arabia not getting along so well. His post is titled "The Secret War against Iran".

Hmmm - Today the BBC has an item about Lebanon that essentially talks about Iran and Saudi Arabia working together.

Beirut newspapers are also reporting highly significant co-operation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, to defuse the situation and reduce sectarian tensions.

The Saudis, regarded as the custodians of Sunni Islam, are closely linked to the Siniora government in Beirut, while Iran - the world's only Shia Islamic republic - has close ties with Hezbollah and with Syria, which has great residual influence in Lebanon.

Riyadh and Tehran have been co-ordinating closely on regional affairs recently. The chief Iranian security official, Ali Larijani, was recently in Riyadh, while his Saudi counterpart, Prince Bandar ibn Sultan, is currently visiting Tehran.

The Iranian and Saudi ambassadors in Beirut are reported to have played a major role in bringing about the decision to call off the strike.

If so, this would be an encouraging development, in a region where sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Shias have been rising sharply, notably in Iraq.

Similar co-operation between the two regional powers could help ease the worsening sectarian strife in Iraq.

Things to watch....