ABSTRACT
The hardening of the US position on Iran would halt the warming trend in Saudi-Iranian relations because of close US-Saudi Arabian relations. Factionalism and competition in Iran have affected Tehran's foreign policy. The pragmatist-reformist faction pursued a more conciliatory foreign policy toward Saudi Arabia and the world. During Ahmadinejad's presidency, Saudi Arabia assumed a more nuanced and reactive approach rather than an assertive one. Dr Al-Oudah told that: One of the main challenges in the Saudi Arabia foreign policy is the government's reluctant involvement in leading the Islamic and the Arabic World. Undoubtedly, Arab concern for the growing influence of Iran reinforced regional support for Saudi Arabia's initiatives for cooperation; however, the longstanding inter-Arab rivalry over the region proved to be a key barrier. The area of regional competition between Iran and Saudi Arabia under study was Lebanon. The unprecedented developments in Lebanon led to increasing intervention of Iran and Saudi Arabia which then affected relations between the two countries.
