Quarterly Journal of Political
Research in Islamic World

Islamic Awakening and then the change of the political systems and crises in some countries has had enormous impacts on the political and security cooperation in the Persian Gulf region. On the one hand, Iran, following to enhance relations with new governments, is seeking to strengthen regional cooperations to solve regional issues including the Syria’s crisis. On the other hand, new competitions between Iran and other regional actors such as Saudi Arabia have emerged to gain geopolitical and ideological interests in the region. This study analyzes foreign policy behavior of Iran and Saudi Arabia toward the Islamic Awakening. The main question is: what is the effect of the Islamic Awakening on regional political- security interactions particularly on relations between the two great nations i.e. Iran and Saudi Arabia, and has been source for which opportunities and threats? We have attempted to test the hypothesis that it is due to geopolitic, geoeconomic and geoculture features of the Persian Gulf region and its direct connection with the interests of the major powers, Islamic Awakening  has led to conflict and strained relations between the two countries.