During the Arab Spring issues and tensions in the Middle East which appeared to have been overcome resurfaced and worsened. Since its eruption in early 2011 in Yemen, Middle East traditional and emerging powers made strategic calculations about how they could influence the pace and scope of change in Yemen in line with their national interests. Thus, Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries, notably Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, played their cards in the early stage of the revolution to convince the people of Yemen to reach a political consensus that they hoped would pave the way for political stability in region. However, the decision to grant political immunity to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was an integral part of the Gulf Cooperation Council Agreement, backfired as he mobilized his former military units and allied with the Huthis to challenge the legitimacy of the Gulf-backed government led by Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The political drama that followed the unexpected advance of Huthi and Saleh forces to the capital Sanaa gave the Islamic Republic of Iran a rare opportunity to reinforce its relevance in shaping the direction of political changes in Yemen. Although the reality of Iran’s involvement in Yemen is beyond certainty, compared to the massive Saudi footprint, the political turmoil in Yemen post 2011 has reflected negatively on Iran-Gulf relations. More precisely, it has also reconfirmed that Saudi-Iranian relations are dominated by mistrust and a blame-game.

Against this backdrop, this chapter attempts to examine how Iran-Yemeni relations have shaped Iran’s dealings with the Gulf countries. In more specific terms, this analysis endeavours to describe how recent political developments in Yemen and Iran’s subsequent involvement have been mirrored in Iranian relations with its Gulf neighbours. To this end, the focus will be on Iran-Saudi relations in the shadow of Iran-Yemen engagement. Therefore, how Iran and Saudi countered each other in Yemen and other strategic locations that are close to Yemen will be considered. Saudi-Iranian confrontation in Syria, Lebanon and the Horn of Africa will also be considered. The goal is to shed light on the implications of the Saudi-Iran confrontation on other political dynamics in the Middle East region. There is no doubt that Iran has attempted to influence and drive domestic political struggles in the Arab and the Gulf countries – where regimes are struggling to control their own societies. There is also an attempt to gain regional power that strains Iran’s relations with the Gulf States in general, and with Saudi Arabia in particular. Yemen presents a typical case in which Iran’s quest to strengthen its relations with political actors in the region antagonizes Saudi Arabia and its smaller Gulf neighbours, and consequently has shaped its relations negatively with Saudi Arabia.