Saudi-Iran Feud Draws Sectarian Dividing Line Across Middle East Oilfields

[Purveyor]

May 31 (Bloomberg) -- Diners at Shayan in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, are assured by a sign near the cash register that they can enjoy the restaurant’s Persian food without worrying about Iranians profiting. The establishment is Saudi- owned, it says.

Saudi fulmination against Iranian interference in the Persian Gulf finds its mirror image in Tehran. There, buses bring doctors and schoolgirls to join protests outside the Saudi embassy, as clerics, ministers and state-run media denounce the deployment of Saudi troops to Bahrain.

The Gulf, home to three-fifths of the world’s oil reserves, has largely escaped the violence that accompanied uprisings in Egypt, Libya and other countries this year. The main exception, though, carries the risk of a wider conflict. Bahrain’s Saudi- backed rulers are using force to suppress an opposition that mostly shares Iran’s Shiite faith -- exacerbating the rivalry between the region’s two most powerful and oil-rich countries.

It’s “frightening to think of this conflict and the effects on oil and other markets,” said Paul Sullivan, a political scientist specializing in Middle East security at Georgetown University.

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[bemildred]

1. Well, we certainly have brought stability to the Middle East, eh? nt

[Ichingcarpenter]

2. Iran... women can drive .. Saudi Arabia they can't

both countries suck and both are opposing religious centers for Islam.... We support the Saudis and not Iran.

Which oil can we get?

Geez