This qualitative research analyzes the complexities for Pakistan regarding Saudi-Iran relationships. Saudi Arabia has serious reservations regarding asymmetric power and regional ambitions of Iran along with its alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons. A particular concern founded in Riyadh is the challenge to the legitimacy of the Al-Saud family in the face of regional and domestic audiences by upstaging it on Pan-Arab issues especially after 1979. Pakistan has a long history of close relationship with Iran as an immediate neighbor and Saudi Arabia as an extremely crucial strategic partner. These extremely poor bilateral relations between the two regional rivals left limited choices for Islamabad. Though Pakistan tried hard to create a balance between both, yet Pakistan found it very difficult to maintain that balance, as both the rivals are stuck in a security dilemma and zero sum game, where victory or benefit of one is the loss for the other and a friend of one is perceived an enemy by the other.
This research aims to analyze the regional and international factors which have affected the policies and stance adopted by two important Iranian regimes towards Iranian nuclear program by using a comparative method discussed under the neo-realist approach. States claiming sovereignty develop offensive military capabilities to defend themselves and extend the power. It is generally assumed as a fact that Iranian nuclear program is a matter of unprecedented threat for Saudi Arabian territory and its allies in the region as well. As it is perceived that existence of nuclear threat is sufficient to embolden Tehran's belligerence in the proxy wars against Riyadh as both is engaged aggressively, wrestling across the region for hegemony and leverage. The ceaseless quest for regional hegemony fluctuated over the entire Middle East for last many decades. Especially, the post-2003 era is characterized by the Shi'ite-Sunni sectarian tensions, which have greatly shaped the Saudi response to the Iranian nuclear program.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.