Saudi Arabia shifts foreign policy as Iran weakened by sanctions

As Iran weakens, an influence vacuum is rising within the Center East — and Saudi Arabia is making an attempt to fill the vacuum by recalibrating relations with former rivals, capping world partnerships and pursuing a extra unbiased international coverage, a number of consultants stated.

Javed Ali, a former senior Nationwide Safety Council official and professor on the College of Michigan, advised Fox Information Digital that “Because the 1979 Iranian Revolution, each Saudi Arabia and Iran have vied for affect within the broader Muslim world. Mohammed bin Salman’s consolidation of energy within the kingdom has additionally launched a markedly completely different imaginative and prescient than that of his predecessors.”

Riyadh’s current strikes from Yemen to Turkey are fueling the talk over whether or not Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s rising regional position nonetheless aligns with US pursuits. As a part of that recalibration, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 9 that Turkey desires to affix the Saudi-Pakistani mutual protection pact signed 4 months earlier, based on individuals aware of the talks.

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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chairs the opening session of the Shura Council in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 10, 2025. (Saudi Press Company/Handout through Reuters)

Michael Rubin, a senior fellow on the American Enterprise Institute, stated Saudi Arabia’s present trajectory needs to be considered in mild of years of built-up frustration with U.S. coverage.

“To be truthful to MBS, earlier US administrations have additionally not saved their finish of the discount,” Rubin advised Fox Information Digital, pointing to repeated Houthi assaults on Saudi territory. “The Houthis launched a whole lot of drones and missiles that the Obama administration ignored.”

Rubin stated tensions elevated as Mohammed bin Salman carried out reforms lengthy urged by US policymakers, however confronted sharp criticism from Washington. He cited the Biden administration’s determination to take away the Houthis’ terror designation.

President Donald Trump welcomes Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White Home, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, in Washington. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

“In no goal manner ought to Secretary of State Antony Blinken have eliminated the phobia designation from the Houthis,” Rubin stated, calling the transfer “pure spite directed at MBS and Donald Trump.”

Rubin stated that call marked a turning level. “MBS calculated that if the US didn’t assist him, he must embrace a Plan B,” he stated, describing the help to Russia and China as a tactical sign relatively than an ideological realignment.

Saudi geopolitical researcher Salman Al-Ansari rejects claims that Riyadh is drifting ideologically or embracing Islamist actions, and views Saudi insurance policies as interest-driven.

U.S. President Donald Trump poses for a household photograph with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and different attendees throughout the U.S.-Saudi Funding Discussion board in Washington, DC, U.S., November 19, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

“Saudi Arabia bases its international coverage not on ideological alignment, however on pragmatic concerns aimed toward stability and growth,” Al-Ansari advised Fox Information Digital. He stated the help to Turkey mirrored an effort to de-escalate the rivalry. “The rapprochement with Turkey displays this diplomatic strategy, which goals to remodel the Center East from a area of power battle to considered one of better stability.”

Al-Ansari stated the shift has already yielded outcomes. “This shift has given Riyadh extra flexibility in partaking regional powers, a change that Ankara rapidly acknowledged and has translated into an enlargement of financial cooperation.”

He rejected claims of affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood. “Saudi Arabia designated the group as a terrorist group in 2014, and this place stays unchanged,” he stated.

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In December 2025, a crowd in southern Yemen is preventing for independence. (Ahmed Shehab)

These competing interpretations of Saudi intentions at the moment are clashing most visibly in Yemen, the place the Saudi-Emirati alliance was initially shaped to counter Iran’s Houthi proxy. Whereas each entered the conflict to push again Iranian affect, their methods diverged. Riyadh helps a unified Yemeni state below the internationally acknowledged authorities, arguing that fragmentation strengthens Iran. The UAE has backed southern separatists, together with the Southern Transitional Council, prioritizing management of ports and safety corridors.

In current days, Saudi and Yemeni authorities forces have largely recaptured southern and jap Yemen from the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), and the STC’s chief has reportedly fled to the UAE amid the group’s reported dissolution, highlighting a pointy break up over Emirati assist for separatists.

Rubin known as Yemen the clearest warning signal. “That is greatest seen in Yemen, the place he has militarily supported the Muslim Brotherhood faction and attacked the extra secular Southern Forces in a manner that solely strengthens Al Qaeda within the Arabian Peninsula and the Houthis,” he stated.

Al-Ansari countered that “the disagreements with the UAE stem from the assist of separatist armed actors in Yemen, which complicates the political course of, fragments the anti-Houthi entrance and finally advantages the Iran-backed Houthi militia.”

Rubin warned of the long-term penalties. “By ‘blowback’ I imply that the identical Islamists that MBS is cultivating at the moment will ultimately goal Saudi Arabia sooner or later,” he stated.

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Individuals maintain a banner with photographs of the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia throughout a gathering organized by Yemen’s predominant separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council (STC), in Aden, Yemen, on December 21, 2025. (Fawaz Salman/Reuters)

With Iran weakened and regional energy shifting, Washington now faces a central query: whether or not Saudi Arabia’s rising position will bolster U.S.-backed stability or redefine the stability of energy in methods that can check the boundaries of the long-standing partnership.