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Article: Iran, Saudi Arabia Improving Relations; Aversion to Iraq Drives Former Foes Closer
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- June 17, 1991
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Saudi Arabia and Iran, bitter rivals for leadership in the
Muslim world for more than a decade, have moved quickly to improve
relations since the end of the Persian Gulf War, further isolating
their mutual adversary: Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Their speedy rapprochement, including an invitation for Iranian
President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to visit Saudi Arabia, marks
perhaps the most dramatic shift in bilateral relations to have
occurred so far in the postwar Persian Gulf.
The two countries currently are the world's largest oil
exporters, a result of the U.N. trade embargo on Iraq, which had
been the second largest, behind Saudi Arabia.
"Iran and Saudi Arabia have turned a new ...