Riyadh: Saudi Arabia is expected to remain a close ally of the West in the fight against extremism and maintain a wary relationship with rival Iran following the death of King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, analysts say.
Riyadh is part of a US-led coalition carrying out air strikes against Daesh militants in Syria and Iraq, and experts say the strategic alliance is likely to continue.
“I see the general contours of US-Saudi relations, particularly against Daesh, as remaining fairly solid,” said Frederic Wehrey, a Gulf expert at the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Members of the ruling family “share the same world view but may differ slightly over matters of strategy and tactics,” he added.
Kuwaiti analyst Ayed Al Manaa said he expects Saudi Arabia’s new king, Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, to maintain a “pragmatic relationship” with the West, despite growing signs of US and European rapprochement with Saudi Arabia’s regional arch-foe Iran.
Ties between Riyadh and the West have long been close owing to mutual interests including oil and a tough stance on radicalism, although they have slackened in recent years because of signs of an improvement in US-Iranian relations, according to Al Manaa.
Riyadh accuses Iran of interfering with the internal affairs of several countries, including Iraq and Syria but also neighbouring Bahrain and Yemen.
Al Manaa said Saudi Arabia “will remain wary” of Iran, which it suspects of supporting Al Houthi fighters in Yemen.
“Saudi pressures are expected to continue until the Al Houthis prove they are not serving as a bridgehead for Iran in Yemen,” said Al Manaa.
Other regular beneficiaries of Saudi aid may have to look elsewhere for foreign funding, according to Wehrey, as the kingdom tightens its belt following a sharp drop in oil prices.
The Opec member derives 90 per cent of its revenues from oil and could be forced to reduce its largesse to states such as Egypt, which Riyadh has supported politically and financially.
“We are already seeing a curtailment of Saudi aid to Egypt and some moves to pressure [Egyptian President Abdul Fatah] Al Sissi to make subsidy reforms since the Saudis can’t sustain the aid indefinitely with the declining price of oil,” Wehrey said.
