Saudi Arabia Links Spy Ring To Iran

Espionage Ring In Saudi Arabia Linked To Iran: Interior Ministry -- Al Arabiya

An alleged spy cell dismantled last week in Saudi Arabia had "direct links" to Iran's intelligence services, the kingdom's interior ministry said on Tuesday.

"Preliminary investigations and physical evidence that has been collected as well as the defendants' statements on this case have all revealed direct links between this cell and Iranian intelligence services," a ministry spokesman said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

"These elements had regularly received sums of money in return for information and documents on important installations during the spy operation in the interest of these services," it said.

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My Comment: Iran is denying any linkage .... but Saudi Arabia is not the only country complaining of Iranian interference in the Gulf..

Saudi Arabia Vows Revenge Against Iran For Alleged Plot

Saudis Say Iran Must 'Pay The Price' For Alleged Plot As US Resists Retaliation -- The Guardian

Tehran denies it was behind plot to kill Saudi ambassador and says US is using it to divert attention from problems at home

Saudi Arabia has issued a menacing ­warning to Iran that it will have to pay a price for the alleged plot to hire a Mexican drug cartel to assassinate its ambassador in Washington.

The threat from the Saudis came as the Obama administration described the alleged plot as a "dangerous escalation" in the region.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said "clearly the plotting happened at senior levels of the Quds force [Iranian special forces]" but the administration resisted calls from within the US, mainly from the conservative right, to retaliate against Iran with military action.

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My Comment: For once I agree with Secretary of State Clinton.

Update: Hostility between Iran and Saudi Arabia is going to get worse -- The Telegraph

Saudi Arabia Is Organizing An Alliance Against Iran

U.S. President Barack Obama and Saudi King Abdullah speak to the media after their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on June 29, 2010. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg

Saudi Bid to Curb Iran Worries U.S. -- Wall Street Journal

Saudi Arabia is rallying Muslim nations across the Middle East and Asia to join an informal Arab alliance against Iran, in a move some U.S. officials worry could draw other troubled nations into the sectarian tensions gripping the Arab world.

Saudi officials have approached Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia and Central Asian states to lend diplomatic support—and potentially military assistance in some cases—to help stifle a majority Shiite revolt in Sunni-led Bahrain, a conflict that has become a symbol of Arab defiance against Iran.

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More News On The Saudi Led Alliance Against Iran

Saudi Arabia Scrambles to Limit Region’s Upheaval -- New York Times
Saudi Drive to Create Anti-Iran Alliance Concerns U.S., WSJ Says -- Bloomberg
Saudis work to save fellow Arab monarchs -- UPI
Saudis Forming Anti-Shiite 'Club of Kings' -- Newser
UK training Saudi forces used to crush Arab spring -- The Guardian
Report: UK trained Saudi troop protest crushers -- CBS News

My Comment: The paragraph that caught my attention came from the Wall Street Journal ....

.... Prince Bandar—who was the Saudi ambassador to Washington for more than two decades—told the Pakistani generals that the U.S. shouldn't be counted on to restore stability across the Middle East or protect Pakistan's interests in South Asia, these officials say.

In short .... after Israel .... our most important ally in the Middle East is now telling everyone that the U.S. cannot be trusted. I know that the Saudis are "pissed-off" at President Obama on how he deserted Egyptian President Mubarak .... but I was not aware to the degree that they are angry at the White House. These diplomatic and military moves on the part of Saudi Arabia are huge, and they have the potential to completely undermine U.S. policy and strategy in the region .... and there is nothing that the U.S. can do about it.

The Growing Animosity Between Saudi Arabia And Iran

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Saudi King Abdullah
in Riyadh during happier times. Photo AP

Saudi-Iranian Hostility Hits Boiling Point -- Asia Times

Conventional wisdom suggests that the terrorist strike by Jundallah in southeastern Iran on Sunday might have had the backing of the United States or Britain. But Jundallah today holds "fatal" attraction for a number of foreign powers that are interested in disorienting Iran's policies.

Both Washington and London scrambled with unusual speed to not only disclaim any hand in the strike that killed seven senior commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps as well as 42 other people, but to condemn it in strong terms.

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My Comment: The above article from the Asia Times sums up beautifully the growing tensions between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran, and the unfortunate role of the U.S. in the middle of this historical (and religious conflict). Read it all .... there is a lot of good information and analysis for the reader to digest.

Saudi Arabia And Iran On A Collision Course

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with Saudi King Abdullah
in Riyadh: Photo courtesy of AP/History Mike.

Gulf Scream: Fear And Loathing In Riyadh--Of Tehran -- Weekly Standard

A few weeks ago, an adviser to Iran's supreme leader called Bahrain Iran's 14th province. Not only did Bahrain react indignantly, but--more important--so did Saudi Arabia. For, even as a potential conflict between Iran and Israel grabs headlines, tensions have been building between Tehran and Riyadh. The Saudis fear both Iran's nuclear program and its expansionist agenda.

And that's not all. The Iranian Revolution of 1979 launched a far-reaching competition between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia for control of Islam and the ummah, the worldwide community of Muslims. Since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became president, Iran has increased its expenditure of money, energy, and time on proselytizing populations, from Africa to the Gulf.

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Hat Tip: Counter Terrorism Blog.

My Comment: It is all about religion. Many in the West perceive Islam as one monolithic religion. It is not. The Sunni-Shiite divide has the potential of escalating into a war that could rival the Catholic-Protestant wars in Europe.

Iran has made it very clear that they have global ambitions. The Sunni Arabs in the region are listening.