Thread by @AliVaez

Finally some constructive & positive development in the midst of rising tensions in the region. This @nytimes oped is groundbreaking for several reasons :[Thread]
nytimes.com/2019/05/14/opi…

1| I can’t recall the last time such prominent Saudi and Iranian veterans of political life and foreign relations of their countries to have written together. Both Abdulaziz Sager and @hmousavian have ties to, and regular communication with, their respective leadership.

2| In the past 40 years, relations b/w Iran & KSA have waxed and waned b/w cooperation, confrontation & competition. In recent years, hostility between Riyadh and Tehran has played out in proxy struggles across and beyond the Middle East.

3| Not until today, however, have we witnessed as grave a risk of deliberate/inadvertent military confrontation b/w the 2 nations. While regional conflicts are generally deescalating compared to recent years, tensions generated by Washington have increased the risks of a clash.

4| This oped shows that at some level, there is a desire in Riyadh & Tehran to step aside from the escalatory trajectory that we're on. Time might not be ripe for a track I dialogue, but it’s heartening that some channels of communication are open outside of talks over Hajj.

5| A small opening on which we can build was Saudi Arabia’s recent material assistance to the victims of terrible floods in Iran, which Iran’s government readily accepted. This is the type of non-political cooperation that benefits both countries. thenational.ae/uae/government…

6| Saudis also rescued a distreed Iranian oil tanker in the Red Sea earlier this month. reuters.com/article/us-sau…. The other side of the coin is much uglier given how fragile the situation in the region is: washingtonpost.com/world/middle_e…

7| The United States can help or hinder. Instead of encouraging zero-sum outcomes, Washington should seek to de-escalate tensions and support this or any other initiative that results in more direct engagement between the two countries.

8| There is a seductive elegance to why Riyadh and Tehran should be doomed to mutual and unyielding enmity. One is a Sunni monarchy with close economic and diplomatic ties to the West; the other is a Shia republic born from a revolution.

9|9 Yet, while the Iranian and Saudi governments may be at odds over a range of regional issues, there is nothing inevitable or irreversible about this enmity. Sager & Mousavian have courageously opened the door to an overdue debate & hopefully more dialogue.