ABSTRACT
Public commentary in the past decade over expanding Great Power interest and involvement in the Gulf has often laid greater emphasis on Iran’s role in this region than on those of Saudi Arabia and the other littoral states. One of the most far-reaching consequences of the October 1973 war, however, has been a fundamental shift in the focus away from Iran and toward the Arab actors in the region. A principal reason for the change was the Arab oil embargo, together with the associated production cutbacks and the subsequent steep rise in petroleum prices. Owing to these factors, plus the concomitant rapid accumulation of monetary wealth by Saudi Arabia and several other countries, greater attention has been paid to the Arab states in the Gulf.
