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Why Arab states are silent about Iran's unrest

22 points by ryan_j_naughton

by jjk166

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In bi-polar systems like the decades-long standoff between Saudi Arbia and it's coalition against Iran and theirs, you don't actually want your opponent to collapse. They serve as a boogeyman that keeps your alliance cohesive and justifies immense efforts to counter them which typically are enriching your key friends. At the very least, they are the devil you know - you have spent considerable resources developing the infrastructure to predict and observe their movements, you know how to talk to them at the negotiating table, you have gentleman's agreements with your counterparts on their side. You want to be the dominant power, so the opportunity to bloody their nose, to embarrass them, is always good, and you want to do everything to stop them from getting an advantage over you. But if they are in serious trouble, you want to ease off the pressure or even help them, because if they fall you're suddenly going to be playing a very different game which you may not be any good at.
Even if some Arab states legitimately do want the Iranian regime to collapse, they don't necessarily want it to randomly collapse right now with no clear indication of what will take it's place. Add in the fact that the major driver of this unrest, high inflation and excessive corruption, are probably not flames they want to fan domestically. Best to watch closely and cautiously keep their options open.

by ahurmazda

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Once the Iranian “autocrats” are dealt with who do you think is next? Many of these Arab states have absolute monarchy fwiw

by Pet_Ant

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by doron

1 subcomments