Saudi Arabia's Militant Regional Policies Versus the Islamic Republic of Iran (2003-2017): Reasons, Objectives and Consequences

The present study analyzes the regional policies of Saudi Arabia from years 2003 to 2017 in confrontation and encounter with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Saudi Arabia, which was known as a conservative country and protective of existing status in the region until 2003, changes were made in their regional policies after this period and they adopted offensive and active politics and started to confront and encounter with the Islamic Republic of Iran at an increasing rate up to now. Oil that has always been Saudi Arabia’s main income plays a key role in consolidating the foundations of this country's economy and providing the necessary conditions and facilities to pursue foreign policy strategies and goals by Riyadh. For this reason, Saudi policies in the region versus Iran, in three periods of (2003-2006), (2006-2011) and (2011-2016), will be analyzed. According to this research, the main question is why Saudi’s regional policy from 2003 to now has been increasing at an alarming rate? To answer this question, first we analyze and assess Saudi Arabia’s offensive policies after 2003 and Saddam's fall until 2017. This study is written with an offensive realism theory in mind, using library and internet data and by the analytical descriptive method