ABSTRACT
Iran's revolution and its accompanying foreign policy have made an always difficult relationship with Saudi Arabia worse. To competition for influence in the Persian Gulf has been added rivalry over competing conceptions of Islam and influence in other areas, such as the Palestinian territories. With the largely reactive and frequently defensive attitude that currently characterises Saudi policy towards Iran, Saudi Arabia would respond cautiously to such a change. It is unlikely to take any initiative itself to change the current nature of Iran-Saudi relations, principally because of its inability to effect the kinds of changes that would make a difference. As far as its security relationship with the United States is concerned, a marked improvement in Iran-US relations would change the context of Saudi-US relations. If Saudi Arabia and the US face challenges in making overtures to Iran, the Iranian government itself faces an even greater challenge in making positive responses to such overtures.
