Hubungan Iran - Arab Saudi dan Kestabilan Rantau Timur Tengah (Iran – Saudi Arabia Relations and The Middle East Stability)

Abstract

The Iranian Revolution in 1979 was one of the world’s Revolutions that not only changed Iran's domestic affairs from a monarchy to Islamic Republic, but also reshaped the landscape and geopolitics of the Middle Eastern Region. To date, Iran, surrounded by Arab countries, has attracted discussions among scholars and the interests of great powers. The question is why Iran is important and how the 1979 Iranian Revolution shaped the landscape and geopolitics of the Middle East? The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between Iran - Saudi Arabia, Sunni-Shi’ite ideologies and how it shaped the Middle Eastern geopolitics. This study uses qualitative approach method based on interviews, fieldwork in Iran, literature methods and document analysis. The findings show that the Post-Revolutionary (1979-2017) leadership of the Republic of Iran continued to contribute to the tension between Sunni-Shi’ites in the Middle Eastern region and was a factor in the upheaval among Arab nations. Saudi - Iran relations after the 1979 Iranian Revolution partially resulted in the instability of the Middle Eastern region. As though it has established the 'Pro-Saudi Arabia' and 'Pro-Iran', 'Cold War' blocks in the Middle Eastern Region, arms race and military strength competition between Saudi and Iran and maintained the Sunni-Shi’ite conflict in the Middle Eastern Region. The study also found that although the Revolution succeeded in liberating the Iranians from the grip of the Pahlavi Dynasty, it resulted in a tense relationship between Saudi and Iran.