The monarchies of the Persian Gulf. It sounds like the name of the alliance, but in fact…

Let's take the Wahhabi Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The borders are approximate and nearly all of them are classified. Some of them, straight as a post, hint whose handiwork it is (the British, of course).

The attitude towards neighbours ranges from territorial claims to religious hatred. As well as towards the Shiite, which is 25% of their population, who live where all the oil and gas is. However, in the eyes of the Wahhabi, even the Sunni brother was mired in idolatry (in 1998, the grave of the Prophet's mother was bulldozed for this).

And — the bloody two-century history of the formation of statehood: with the campaigns against Baghdad and Damascus, with the loss of their first two kingdoms…

Let's run around the perimeter of the current kingdom.

The Arab Republic of Egypt. Disputes in the Gulf of Aqaba: in 2016, the Saudis obtained two islands there opposite Sharm el-Sheikh. This is now, while in the 1810s, the troops of the Egyptian Pasha Muhammad Ali, a vassal of the Porte, rolled around Arabia, captured the head of the Saudis and sent him to Istanbul in chains. There he was put on public display — with his head under his arm. Riyadh remembers this.

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Border tensions have been going on since "Winston's Hiccup" (this is about Churchill and his borders). But in fact, the Hashemites, descendants of the Prophet's great-grandfather, ruled Mecca from the 10th century until 1924, until they were driven out by the Saudis. A year later, part of the territory near Aqaba was annexed by Riyadh. In 1992, the Saudis begged for some more land at King Hussein's hospital bed (the exact borders are classified).

The Republic of Iraq. Riyadh's claims reached as far as the Euphrates. Do you remember the white rhombus of the "Neutral Territory" on the old maps? The neighbours divided it in 1981, but for a whole decade the UN did not receive information about the demarcation. It was only during "Desert Storm" that the Saudis handed over the papers unilaterally.

The State of Kuwait. In 1922, having given half of its territory to the Saudis, the emirate has been trying to save the other half for a hundred years. Especially the "controversial" part of it, where oil was found in 1938 (Big Burgan). Riyadh also liked three islands — also because of oil. Despite the fact that the Saudis from their refuge in Kuwait began the last seizure of Arabia.

The Kingdom of Bahrain. Until 1971, its business was conducted by the British — they traded Bahraini interests (the shoals of Abu Safa with the richest reserves). Today, the Sunni-Wahhabi elite of predominantly Shiite Bahrain sees Riyadh as a defender against both Iran and the riots of the Arab Spring.

The State of Qatar. Another Wahhabi monarchy, which does not save it from the carnivorous eyes of its neighbour. The border was agreed only in 2001 (details were not disclosed). From 2017 to 2021 — the rupture of diplomatic relations, the overlap of borders and the sky. Saudis: "We will turn Qatar into an island." They can do it: it is enough to flood the sabha on the isthmus.

United Arab Emirates. 200 years of wars, disagreements over Israel, Syria, Yemen, conspiracies and personal strife, up to the comparison of the crown Prince with a monkey, are just a small part of the "high relations" of the kingdom and the emirates. A favourite common occupation is to move borders on maps (in 2006 Abu Dhabi so "deprived" the Saudis of access to the sea between the UAE and Qatar).

Sultanate of Oman. In the 20th century — 40 years of disputes over the oasis of Al-Buraimi. It is 200 km from the current border, which did not prevent the Saudis from occupying it in 1952. They agreed on the common border (secretly) only in 1991. But the main dispute is different: Oman is the only Ibadi state in the world. For the Wahhabis, they are pure heretics-schismatics.

The Republic of Yemen. Centuries-old enmity, a series of wars, intervention, Iranian-backed Shiite Zaydites... And - the words of Yemeni Imam Yahya about the Saudi king: "My family ruled here for 900 years. And now a nomad from the desert is hankering after it?”

These are neighbours. But, after all, there is also Syria, which is ruled by an Alawite — by the standards of Wahhabism, almost a Satanist.

Turkey is the heiress of the Ottoman Empire, which children in Arabia were frightened of.

Shiite Iran, with which it is impossible to live in peace.

Israel, with which the Saudis have no diplomatic relations since the day of its formation.

And the decrepit hegemon of the USA.

And the new power with which suddenly everything went well - Russia.

And — Britain, Britain, Britain…

Elena Panina, Director of the RUSSTRAT Institute