There can be no solution without Iran in solving regional affairs

Jonathan Fryer made the remarks in an exclusive interview with IRNA in London.

'Saudi Arabia seems to wish to assert its preeminence in the region partly in contrast to Iran. It sees Iran as its major opponent but also as a means of self-preservation,' Fryer said while commenting on the role of Saudi Arabia in the region.

“The fundamental driving force in Saudi Arabia is to maintain the status quo to keep the royal family and the monarchy system there and of course ever since the revolution in Iran in 1979 monarchy have felt under threat,” he added.

Referring to Saudi Arabia claims about Iran’s alleged interference in the region, Fryer said, “It’s clear that the Iranian interference arguments has been the narrative that Riyadh and the government in Bahrain have promoted. I was in Bahrain when things started in 2011 and that was very clearly the line that the government and the Saudis were pushing.

“Of course there are links between some of the Shia populations in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia and also in Bahrain with Iran, but that does not necessarily therefore mean that there is any subversive activity.

“I think that too much emphasize is put on the Shia-Sunni divide with Iran as the head of Shia camp and Saudi as the head of the Sunni camp.
“I think that’s an unhelpful way of seeing things because actually it’s much more about the political systems rather than religion.”

Assessing the role of Iran in the region, the British analyst said, “Iran is a very important country in the region with a long and magnificent history. I hope that now it will be able to profit from the lessening of sanctions in order to play a more constructive and powerful role not just in the region but on the world stage.

“Here in Europe many of the European states are welcoming the fact that Iran can be more of an active player and certainly many of the key conflicts for example Syria which is perhaps the most serious of all the conflicts going on there can be no solution without Iran.

“So we must have Iran as an active player and a negotiator in international affairs.”

Commenting on the future of the region with the US President Donald Trump administration which is shifting its policy towards Saudi Arabia, Fryer said that he thinks “it is still early days to know exactly what Donald Trump’s policy is going to be towards the whole region because clearly he was a man who was totally inexperienced in the politics of the region, in geopolitics as a whole. He is a businessmen and perhaps originally he thought that Saudi Arabia was a very good business opportunity which is one of the reasons why Saudis are not in the list of the banned visitors.

“There are those in the state department in Washington who are very nervous about the idea of US being attached to Saudi Arabia. Because they see, as I see, that the future of Saudi monarchy is very much in question. Not tomorrow, not next month but sometimes in the near future.”

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