ABSTRACT
In its drive for a leading role in the Islamic world, Tehran perceived Saudi Arabia as its main rival. That the presence of a considerable Shi’i minority there made the Saudi Kingdom an excellent target for exporting the revolution became a secondary consideration; primacy was given to the goal of replacing the Saudis as a predominant Islamic force. Iran’s claim to be the sole authority to speak on behalf of Islam inevitably challenged the traditional Saudi bid for Muslim primacy. Iranian leaders were determined to demonstrate that their Islam—revolutionary, radical, indeed messianic—was of a completely different nature from that of the Saudis. Initially, as the Shah was overthrown and the Iranian clerics gradually consolidated their position, Saudi spokesmen were at pains to dispel any notion that they feared the new Iran. Instead, they went to great lengths in stressing the common Islamic factor.
