The Persian Gulf and Afghanistan: Iran and Saudi Arabia's Rivalry Projected

Towards the end of 2012, the Afghan government announced that Saudi Arabia would build an Islamic complex in Kabul. The project was to rival the Khatam al-Nabyeen Islamic University, allegedly built with the support of Iran in 2006. This raised a question in many Afghans’ mind: Were these two countries ultimately interested in Afghanistan for the sake of peace and stability or for curbing each other’s influence? From a realpolitik perspective, Iran and Saudi Arabia arguably seek increased influence on the Afghan political process in order to ensure, at best, a future government friendly to their interests, or, in the worst case scenario of a renewed civil war, to protect their interests, investments, and, in the case of Iran, potential incursions in its territory.

This final paper, in a series of four devoted to the security complexes surrounding Afghanistan, is concerned with the dynamics within the Persian Gulf region: What shapes the rivalry, how global powers impact on and are impacted by tensions and competition between Saudi Arabia and Iran as the two main players, and how the long-standing rivalry between these two informs their relations with Afghanistan.

Cooperative security arrangements in the region require elements that do not seem readily available at the moment: respect for sovereignty; non-interference by externals, inclusive institutional mechanisms and favourable domestic conditions. Along with the developments in Syria and the future of Islam as a system for governance, the author argues that Afghanistan represents an opportunity for regional cooperation – despite the neighbouring countries having their security focus elsewhere.