Iran's Social Resilience and Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Ambitions in the Persian Gulf

Ghiath Rammo reflects on social dynamics in Iran and Saudi Arabia, drawing from personal travels. In 2019, he visited Tehran, Qom, Kashan, Yazd, Kerman, Shiraz, Isfahan, and Kermanshah, observing a vibrant middle class in museums and restaurants, which he contrasts with his upbringing in Tirbêsipî and Aleppo, Syria. He cites his Syrian-German professor Azad Hamoto's view on urban vitality indicators like florists and newsstands, noting their prevalence in Iran. Rammo argues Iran's resilience stems from its prepared society and national pride, fearing defeat in the eyes of Arab and Turkish neighbors, unlike Syria, a modern state born from the Ottoman Empire. In late November 2024, he visited Dhahran in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, part of the Dammam metropolitan area with Dammam and Khobar, sensing a hunger for change. Saudi Arabia, lacking Iran's historical social strength, focuses on western development along the Red Sea, leveraging regional instability to accelerate reforms and attract human capital. The Red Sea becomes a testing ground for post-oil future, with Riyadh betting on openness versus Iran's internal resilience. The article references Tim Marshall's book 'Prisoners of Geography', translated as 'Le 10 mappe che spiegano il mondo' by Garzanti, emphasizing geographical factors. The piece concludes that the next decade's challenge is not military arsenal size but which social model proves more stable and prosperous.