It seems that Saudi Arabia is again taking positive initiatives. All the empirical evidence and the trends of the new regime in the Kingdom, led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, show that Saudi Arabia has begun a new era.
Operation Storm Resolve, the military campaign against those who deposed the legitimate government of Yemen and rejected the “Gulf initiative,” indicates that a new era, initiated by the Kingdom, has begun, which will bring about changes in the region.
The strategic developments of the past four years were negative for the Arab world in general and the Gulf states in particular. The Gulf and Arab states witnessed fragmentation and things reached the point where disagreements emerged among the Gulf states on important issues.
The new, dynamic Saudi era is marked by an unprecedented way of thinking, the first aim of which is to stop the deterioration on the Yemeni front and repel the Iranian tide and Tehran’s military equipment in Yemen that was going to be used to boost Iranian control over strategic points for trade through the Red Sea and Arabian Sea.
Iran has succeeded in filling the strategic vacuum in the Arab space, in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen. Its influence has extended to three seas surrounding the Arab countries. It is a reality that must be seriously dealt with; Arabs must increase their confidence and regain influence over these areas, which will create a sense of security among Arabs.
According to a study, Saudi Arabia ranks third regionally in terms of its strategic capabilities. This should qualify it for strategically leading the region.
According to strategy reports issued by global organisations, Saudi Arabia is one of the strategically influential countries in the world along with America, China, the European Union, Japan, Russia and Turkey.
Saudi Arabia can mobilise a unified Sunni coalition from the Gulf to the ocean. Also, the Kingdom’s strong ties with Pakistan, a Sunni nuclear state, provide a counterweight to the Iranian nuclear programme.
In addition to its new alliance with Turkey, the Kingdom can use its economic power and political clout to control Opec and influence oil prices to achieve its political and strategic goals.
Saudi Arabia will continue to be the leading force in the Islamic world and the ideological leader of Sunnis to repel Iran and its allies in the region.
The military operation in Yemen is a step towards ensuring the region’s security.
It represents an important and necessary strategy that only Saudi Arabia with its new leadership is capable of executing successfully.
I think forming a body to end regional conflicts and contain Iranian expansion and Israeli pride will be an important strategic step.
The Kingdom, with its new vitality and dynamism, is capable of creating a regional council that will include Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Egypt to achieve strategic balance and stability, develop the region, and forge new relations with Iran and other states.
The most important objectives of the strategic council could be to:
1. Reduce the expansion of Iranian influence in the Arab region and in the Arabian Gulf.
2. Turn the Iranian nuclear project into a peaceful project.
3. Pressure Iran to initiate peaceful negotiations with the countries of the region, especially in the Gulf.
4. Find a strategic balance to pressure the Zionist bully in the region.
5. Take advantage of the strategic competence and capacities of Turkey and Pakistan.
6. Help Egypt change its volatile and shaky position on Syria and Iraq, and give it back its more important responsibility of maintaining Arab national security.
7. Form a political and strategic bloc to influence international affairs in such a way that the US doesn’t intrude in the affairs of the Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia, when making regional security arrangements.
The countries and citizens of the region are looking forward to a new strategy from Saudi Arabia in the era of King Salman, in the context of the serious challenges faced by the region, especially the Gulf.
After the first step of stopping the deterioration of the situation in Yemen, forging mutual understanding on various regional issues and creating a strategic regional council will be moves in the right direction.
The author is a columnist
