Washington: The dramatic escalation in tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran has dealt a major blow to US standing in the region, and some experts say the blame lies with its single-minded focus on mending relations with Tehran.
Washington has failed to manage its traditional Sunni Arab allies in the Gulf while reaching out to their Shiite foe Iran to secure a nuclear deal, experts say.
Secretary of State John Kerry called his Iranian and Saudi counterparts, foreign ministers Mohammad Javad Zarif and Adel al-Jubeir, on Monday to urge calm.
But the crisis that erupted when Riyadh marked the New Year by executing a respected Shiite cleric was always likely to come to a head, whatever event triggered it.
And now Washington has suffered a loss of influence at a time when it needs to implement the deal and work with both Tehran and Riyadh to end the Syrian war.
"I think the administration has had a one-eyed policy on this," Salman Shaikh, founder and CEO of regional consultancy the Shaikh Group, told AFP.
Shaikh said he and others had warned US officials "at the highest level" that its focus on Iran had hurt its traditionally warm relationship with Riyadh.
- Stirring sedition -
"As a result we're now seeing a fairly serious balance of power struggle being played out between the two main protagonists in the region," he said.
"Now I think the amount of US influence and leverage on this situation is alarmingly limited at this point in time," Shaikh warned.
The Middle East's two pivotal Muslim powers -- the Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Shiite Islamic republic of Iran -- have never seen eye-to-eye.
Riyadh accuses Tehran of stirring sedition among the Shiite minorities in Arab states, while Iran sees its rival as a US proxy and sponsor of extremism.
Washington broke off diplomatic relations with Iran after the 1979 hostage crisis at its Tehran embassy and has remained a close friend of Saudi Arabia.
But there has been mounting anger in Riyadh in recent years as Washington has reached out to Iran in order to secure an agreement on its nuclear future.
This appeared to bear fruit in July last year, when Tehran agreed to measures to put a nuclear weapon beyond its reach in exchange for sanctions relief.
Kerry publicly insists the nuclear deal was a self-contained effort, but it was widely seen as a first step towards a better working relationship with Iran.
This has infuriated Riyadh and Saudi allies in the Gulf, who see Iran's hand behind militant attacks, Shiite unrest and the Huthi rebellion in Syria.
Washington has brushed off their concern and -- with Russia -- has worked to bring Iran on board as a "stakeholder" in efforts to end the Syrian war.
Last week it was Saudi Arabia's turn to ignore US concerns, when it marked the first day of 2016 with a mass execution, including of a leading Shiite cleric.
Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr's death was seized upon by Iranian hardliners and at the weekend local authorities stood by as protesters stormed the Saudi embassy.
Now Saudi Arabia and some of its Sunni allies have cut off ties, and Washington's rival President Vladimir Putin of Russia is offering to play mediator.
This is a second setback for Washington for, as Shaikh said, "as the regional hegemon, it had a responsibility to manage this and to manage it responsibly."
Alberto Fernandez, a former US ambassador now with the Middle East Media Research Institute, said the crisis proved the administration's critics right.
"How can you warm up with Iran without upsetting your ally?" he asked, pointing to Iran's aggressive role in other problem areas around the Middle East.
"Those who said that you cannot divorce the nuclear deal from Iran's other activities in the region were right," he told AFP.
Whatever Washington's next move is -- beyond appealing for calm -- the crisis is likely to last for years and feed into others, jeopardizing the Syrian talks.
AFP
