Publication

This brief discusses the escalating tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran following the former’s execution of Saudi Shiite leader Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on January 2, 2016. The execution represents yet another round in the long-standing conflict between the two countries, which emerged after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and has intensified in the wake of the Arab Spring. The jostling thus far has been diplomatic and via proxies, but the danger of a future military collision is real enough.