The border guards forced the boats to retreat with warning shots

Three Iranian ships enter the maritime territory of Saudi Arabia

photo_camera PHOTO/SAUDI ARABIAN PRESS AGENCY - Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz

The Saudi Arabian border guard forced three Iranian ships that entered Saudi waters last Thursday to retreat with warning shots, the state agency SPA reported Saturday. The coast guard warned three Iranian boats that entered Saudi waters, according to a statement issued by the border guard spokesman. 

The spokesman said the coast guard followed the boats and issued repeated warnings to stop, but refused to stop. When the boats refused, the coast guard used warning shots that forced the Iranian boats to turn back. The spokesman, who has not offered any further details on the incident, said in the note that the border guard "will never accept any transgression in the waters of the kingdom.

This type of incident is not usual between Saudi Arabia and its neighbour Iran, the Sunni and Shiite powers of the Middle East, which have not had diplomatic relations since 2016. However, the conflictive Strait of Ormuz, a narrow passage between Iran and Oman through which 20% of the world's oil crosses, has been the scene of several security incidents in the last year, including attacks and sabotage of ships.

Very tense relations

The rivalry between the monarchical Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Iran is one of the great sources of tension in the Middle East. Both seek to establish themselves as hegemonic in the region. Iran, as a revolutionary regime, tries to expand the postulates that govern its political system beyond its borders. That is why it finances the movements that are related to it, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon or the pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, since the majority tendency in Iraq is the Shiite one. 

The rivalry between these countries is not only military. The soldiers have never faced each other hand in hand, but the confrontation takes place with the support of different factions supported by some and by others who fight each other. The tensions are so strong that there have even been rapprochements between Saudi Arabia and Israel to deal with the Iranian threat

These powers, together with Turkey, are the only ones that have been strong enough to dispute hegemony in the region in recent years. Iraq is in a very delicate political and economic situation as a result of the US invasion. The debates about the departure of the American troops have become eternal. Syria is still licking the wounds of the civil war that has lasted almost a decade and has left the country exhausted. Egypt has too many internal problems to aspire to regional hegemony. The rest of the countries in the area are either too small, as in the case of Jordan, or too unstable, as in the case of Lebanon. 

This rivalry also has international implications. Saudi Arabia is the United States' main regional ally and Iran is one of its enemies. Today there is no way out of the conflict between these countries, nor do they even have diplomatic relations. This confrontation has the potential to endanger the stability of the entire Middle East. 

More in Politics