Cold War in the Islamic World: Saudi Arabia, Iran and the Struggle for Supremacy - Hardcover

"The contemporary great game playing out bloodily between oil-fired theocracies in Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran is the subject of Dilip Hiro's latest book. He tells the story with relish."--The Financial Times

"The book has a racy pace and is rich in reportage . . . Hiro marshals an enormous amount of fact and anecdote as he recounts the manner in which regional and global events unfold . . . a rich tapestry."-- Financial Express

"Ambitious, impressive, original, and important. Hiro explains the roots of the current rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia in historical terms, examining how developments in the recent past have shaped their differences and similarities"-- Mehran Kamrava, Professor, Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, Qatar, and author of Inside the Arab State

"An excellent bookEL extremely engaging. Hiro explores the various geopolitical aspects of the Saudi-Iranian rivalry since 1979, weaving startling and revealing anecdotes into the analysis."-- Kristian Coates-Ulrichsen, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, and author of First World War in the Middle East

"Eminent historian and prolific author [Dilip] Hiro... focuses on a pertinent crucible of roiling tension in the region... An important study for understanding the roots of current tensions [between Saudi Arabia and Iran]."--Kirkus Reviews

"Hiro is a wonderful raconteur . . . few have told the story of tensions between Riyadh and Tehran quite as well as him."--LSE Middle East Centre Blog

"One comes away from Dilip Hiro's new book... with a heightened appreciation for the complexities of politics in the Islamic world. It is a world where geopolitics and religion intersect in a struggle for power and survival among Islamic regimes."--New York Journal of Books

For four decades Saudi Arabia and Iran have vied for influence in the Muslim world. At the heart of this ongoing Cold War between Riyadh and Tehran lie the Sunni-Shia divide, and the two countries' intertwined histories. Saudis see this as a conflict between Sunni and Shia; Iran's ruling clerics view it as one between their own Islamic Republic and an illegitimate monarchy.

This foundational schism has played out in a geopolitical competition for dominance in the region: Iran has expanded its influence in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, while Saudi Arabia's hyperactive crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman, has intervened in Yemen, isolated Qatar and destabilized Lebanon.

Dilip Hiro examines the toxic rivalry between the two countries, tracing its roots and asking whether this Islamic Cold War is likely to end any time soon.