Active Preparation for a Saudi – Iranian Détente

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The Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah will visit Iran at the end of this month in a continuation of a series of high profile exchanges between the Arab Gulf States and Tehran.  One of the most important topics on Al Sabah’s visit to Tehran is the Saudi – Iranian “cold war” in the region and the current efforts to end it.  There is possibility that Kuwait can intermediate between the two regional powers regarding some of the critical issues that cannot be easily handled through other channels.  In the past months, several Gulf states have had exchanges with the Islamic Republic, but the coming visit by the Kuwaiti Emir is the first to be scheduled since the media reports that Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had received – and accepted – the invitation to Saudi Arabia.   However, there are still many unsettled issues that could jeopardize this first steps.

One indication of this uncertainty is that Tehran persists in reminding everyone that the recent Saudi invitation to Foreign Minister Zarif was merely an “oral” communication, and a specific date for the visit was never set.  In reality, the visit of Zarif is awaiting the results of the work by a number of panels that are endeavoring to craft general outlines of mutual understandings on difficult issues.  At the same time, the toughest issues will be left to the political leadership of both sides.