Tehran grows more isolated by the day

Agence France Presse reports that Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit is accusing Iran of being behind Gaza's recent seizure of Gaza, and of creating problems in Iraq too. As the AFP reports via The (Australian) Age:

"Iran's policies encouraged Hamas to do what it has done in Gaza and this represents a threat for Egypt's national security because Gaza is a stone's throw from Egypt," the minister said in comments carried by the Al-Masri Al-Yom newspaper.

"The Iranian influence in Iraq also represents a threat for Egyptian and Arab national security. This obliges Cairo to restrict its relations with Tehran," he said.

As the newspaper goes on:

Closing ranks against Hamas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has invited Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian leaders to a summit on Sunday.

What do experts think of Saudi Arabia's growing influence?

The Atlantic Monthly polled 39 Middle East experts to find out what they thought about Saudi Arabia's growing role in the region. Here are some of the findings:

Only twenty-three percent thought Saudi Arabia would be able to contain Iranian influence in the region. As one expert told the Atlantic:

“Remember, the great advantage the Saudis have (beyond money) in the region is that they are Arabs the Iranians are Persians. This alone limits the power the Iranians have over the entire region and is a tremendous demographic asset for the Saudis.”

But only sixteen percent thought Saudi involvement would increase sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shias and five percent thought that Saudi Arabia's growing role could actually heighten the possibility of a conventional war between Iran and the Sunni Arab states.

Only two percent thought the Saudis could contain Iran's influence in Iraq.

Sixty-nine percent thought that Saudi Arabia would remain "friendly enough" to U.S. interests over the next five years.

Many seemed to indicate that King Abdullah was an important factor in the good relations.

As one expert reportedly said: "Saudi Arabia under King Abdullah is a very responsible and important nation. They remain better friends to the United States than we deserve.”

Another expert had this to say:

“Riyadh has no illusions about what Iran's ascendancy means for the region--or why it [needs] the United States as an ally. So the House of Saud won't venture too far from Washington's side.”

Another suggested that any good will on either side is only the result of each countries' oil dependence:

“Saudi Arabia is good on oil and bad on virtually everything else. As long as we're so addicted to that oil, it—and, sadly, we—are friendly enough.”