Decreased clout reason for U.S. anger at Beijing-brokered Tehran-Riyadh detente, experts say

TEHRAN, April 12 (Xinhua) -- The United States is reportedly frustrated with the China-brokered rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, as the detente hints at a developing rift between Washington and Riyadh and reflects decreased American influence in the Middle East, analysts said.

China, Saudi Arabia, and Iran announced on March 10 that the latter two had reached a deal, which includes an agreement to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions within two months, almost seven years after Riyadh cut diplomatic ties with Tehran in 2016 in response to the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom executed a Shiite cleric.

Following the March agreement, in a meeting in Beijing on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, signed a joint statement, announcing the resumption of diplomatic relations with immediate effect.

EMERGING RIFT WITH U.S.

Speaking to Hamshahri Online news website, Iranian international affairs expert Mostafa Khoshcheshm said the Tehran-Riyadh detente was an "absolute defeat" for the United States as it dealt heavy blows to Washington.

The main downside of the rapprochement for the United States was that one of its main allies in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, reduced tensions with Iran, which is among Washington's enemies, he added.

Hossein Shariatmadari, the CEO of Iran's Kayhan newspaper, said the United States is angry at Saudi Arabia's U-turn toward Iran.

Saudi Arabia turned a blind eye to the preconditions set and dictated by the United States for resuming relations with Iran and achieved an agreement with Tehran based on logical common demands, he added.

He added that Saudi Arabia's decision to normalize ties with Iran has secluded Riyadh from the U.S. camp, which could impact U.S. activities in the Arab state's market, from which the United States used to reap huge dividends in return for empty promises of providing security.

Saudi Arabia began to lose faith in the United States after failing to achieve the security components it was seeking through partnership and a 500-billion-U.S.-dollar security deal with Washington, Iran's Borna news agency cited Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, an Iranian analyst and a former member of parliament, as saying.

He also noted that a new situation has begun to pervade Riyadh-Washington relations following the inauguration of President Joe Biden and that Saudi Arabia has come to the conclusion that long-term agreements with the United States would not "last long."

Khoshcheshm, speaking to Hamshahri Online, shared the same view, saying that during former U.S. President Donald Trump's term in office, Riyadh relied heavily on Washington's support to ensure its security. However, when Saudis realized that U.S. backing was conditional on safeguarding American economic interests and saw the chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan, which led to the collapse of the Afghan government in a matter of days, they decided to reduce their reliance on Americans' support.

Riyadh has realized that it cannot rely on Washington, Shariatmadari said.

Alameh noted that one of the reasons for Riyadh's drifting away from Washington was that the approach adopted by Trump toward Saudi Arabia was based on "holding the latter to ransom."

DECREASING CLOUT

Almost all the analysts unanimously maintained that the "declined regional influence" was the heaviest blow that the normalization of Tehran-Riyadh ties dealt to the United States.

Khoshcheshm said the United States failed to play any role in the easing of the tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which is among the reasons why it has been infuriated by the detente.

He added that by mediating between Iran and Saudi Arabia, China has gained a good political foothold in the region and has increased its influence.

Falahatpisheh noted that having been well aware of the U.S. habit and track record of keeping old tensions alive in different parts of the world, Beijing proceeded with its policy of peaceful development.

Praising Beijing's role in the rapprochement, Alameh said China is a great country and interacts with other states based on mutual respect, unlike the United States which seeks to dominate other nations, impose its policies on them, and hold them to ransom in bilateral relations.

To better illustrate the U.S. frustration, Kayhan newspaper, in an analysis, quoted Mark Dubowitz, the CEO of the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies -- a non-profit think-tank -- as saying that the renewed Iran-Saudi ties were "a lose, lose, lose for American interests."

"It demonstrates that the Saudis don't trust Washington to have their back, that Iran sees an opportunity to peel away American allies to end its international isolation," he added.