HOUSTON—Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf neighbors may seek to “de-risk” relations with Iran to get ships moving through the Strait of Hormuz while also staying aligned with the United States.
It is a precarious balance that offers short-term relief but poses long-term perils, a panel of veteran diplomats and military leaders suggested on March 26.
Gulf states “fear two outcomes” in how the war ends, Rice University Baker Institute for Public Policy Director David Satterfield said during a forum at CERAWeek by S&P Global in the Americas Hilton-Houston.
“One, there is no outcome,” he said. “It muddles on in increasingly chaotic, nasty fashion with further engagement of U.S. forces, perhaps beyond air forces, and it doesn’t come to a clean end. Indeed, maybe it doesn’t end at all. That’s a worry.”…