Saudis' Move to Cease Iran Ties Encourages Terrorist Networks: US Academic Figure
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An American university professor said Saudi Arabia, through severing diplomatic ties with Iran following the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric, will further fuel “sectarian violence” in the region since its move encourages Takfiri terrorists.
“…Saudi Arabia has already accelerated its bombing of Yemen and I think the execution of al-Nimr is related to that. I also think the move recklessly encourages terrorist networks that call for sectarian violence,” Toby C. Jones, an associate professor of history at Rutgers University, told the Tasnim News Agency.
Toby C. Jones has lived and worked extensively in the Middle East, including several years in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. During 2008-2009 he was a fellow at Princeton University's Oil, Energy, and the Middle East project. From 2004 to early 2006 Jones worked as the Persian Gulf political analyst for the International Crisis Group. His research interests focus on the environment, energy, and the history of science and technology. He is the author of Desert Kingdom: How Oil and Water Forged Modern Saudi Arabia (Harvard University Press, 2010) and is currently working on two new books, America's Oil Wars (under contract at Harvard University Press) and Running Dry: Essays on Environmental Crisis (under contract with Rutgers University Press).
He has written for the International Journal of Middle East Studies, Journal of American History, Middle East Report, Raritan Quarterly Review, The Nation, The Atlantic, the London Review of Books, the New York Times, and elsewhere. Jones is a member of the Editorial Committee at Middle East Report and Director of Rutgers' Center for Middle Eastern Studies.
The following is the full text of the interview.
Q: The Saudi government decided to cease all its diplomatic ties with Iran following Tehran’s objection and angry protests over the execution of prominent Shiite cleric Ayatollah Nimr al-Nimr by Riyadh. What is your take on the monarchy’s decision, taking into account the ongoing protest rallies across the globe days after the cleric’s execution?
A: I think the Saudis intended to provoke some kind of response. Facing multiple pressures, the Saudis use anti-Shiism and anti-Iranian sentiment to deflect criticism and build support for both domestic and regional purposes.
Q: What will the future hold in terms of possible fallout from Saudi Arabia’s severance of ties with Iran at the regional level?
A: Some we have already seen, such as the cutting off of diplomatic ties. Even Kuwait has withdrawn its ambassador from Iran. Elsewhere, the response will be more violent. Saudi Arabia has already accelerated its bombing of Yemen and I think the execution of al-Nimr is related to that. I also think the move recklessly encourages terrorist networks that call for sectarian violence.
Q: Do you believe that the rupture of ties between Tehran and Riyadh would possibly affect the Syrian peace talks?
A: I think the Syria Talks are in trouble. Both Saudi Arabia and Iran are important to helping end the war in Syria. I cannot imagine Saudi leaders being seriously committed to finding a compromise after all of this. One wonders if they ever really intended to at all.