Did Iran really have allies in Arab Sunni ruled countries though? Pretty much all of them already see non-Arab Shia Iran as an enemy, and have for a long time. The only real mystery is how the region hasn't imploded already with all the historical tension between these countries.

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alephnerd an hour ago | parent [-]

> Did Iran really have allies in Arab Sunni ruled countries though

Yes. Qatar due to Iran's support of the Thani family during the tumultuous 1990s [0] and the blockade [1], Sudan under Bashir [2] and now under the Army [3], Tunisia [4] due to ties with Ennadha, Algeria until 2025 [5] due to Morocco and Israel's close defense cooperation, and Kuwait due to economic and clan ties [6].

> Pretty much all of them already see non-Arab Shia Iran as an enemy

Only those states directly aligned with Saudi or the UAE (they are not the same team) view Iran with hostility becuase of Saudi Arabia and Iran's perennial rivalry over the MidEast.

[0] - https://www.danielpipes.org/6317/hamad-bin-jasim-bin-jabr-al...

[1] - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/6/25/iran-hassan-rouhani...

[2] - https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/166344/235_Bodansky.pdf

[3] - https://www.bic-rhr.com/research/new-old-player-town-sudan-i...

[4] - https://iramcenter.org/en/inside-the-complexity-of-iran-tuni...

[5] - https://nouvellerevuepolitique.fr/hichem-aboud-comment-alger...

[6] - https://web.archive.org/web/20220717062931/http://www.payvan...

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mullingitover 6 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

> Yes. Qatar

Qatar, the country hosting the Al Udeid Air Base, the biggest US military base in the middle east? That Qatar?

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seanmcdirmid an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

That is useful, thanks! Iran always seems like they have more enemies than friends, but I guess I overplayed the Shia/Sunni divide.

	▲	alephnerd an hour ago \| parent [-]
		> Iran always seems like they have more enemies than friends Because the core of the Iranian Revolution is quite similar to Maoism [0] but also very interested in exporting the revolution abroad. You have to remember that the Iranian Revolution only happened in 1979, and most of Iran's modern leadership were foot soldiers and even leadership during Iran's Cultural Revolution [1] in the 1980s (eg. Rouhani, Larijani, Aref, Arafi). Imagine if China today was ruled by active Red Guard, or if the 1976 autocoup failed - that's Iran, but with a dose of Islamism. > I guess I overplayed the Shia/Sunni divide. Yep. In fact, a number of Sunni states saw contemporary attempts to mimic the Iranian Revolution such as in Saudi Arabia with the Kaaba Siege, the Afghan Revolution in 1979 which led to the Soviet Occupation, and the burning the US Embassy in Islamabad in 1979 [2]. [0] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47108706 [1] - https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%82%D9%84%D8%A7... [2] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_U.S._embassy_burning_in_I...