‘Things will just have to be accepted as tense’: Saudi-Iran relations have a long way to go despite rapprochement efforts

Michael Stephens, an associate fellow at London’s Royal United Services Institute, agrees. "I think the two sides are serious, but I think this is a much longer process than maybe some of the commentariat are giving it. Not everything has changed, and there are still significant tensions to work through across a whole range of areas,” he said, citing the war in Yemen — Tehran and Riyadh support opposing sides — as well as Iran’s use of proxy militias around the Middle East and attacks on Saudi infrastructure by Iran-backed groups.