Desperation does not even begin to describe the current plight of the House of Saud.


Riyadh was fully aware the beheading of�respected Saudi Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr was a deliberate provocation bound to�elicit a rash Iranian response.

The Saudis calculated they could get away with�it; after�all they employ the best American PR machine petrodollars can buy, and are viscerally defended by�the usual gaggle of�nasty US neo-cons.

In a post-Orwellian world "order" where war is peace and "moderate" jihadis get a free pass, a House of�Saud oil hacienda cum beheading paradise�� devoid of�all civilized norms of�political mediation and civil society participation�� heads the UN Commission on�Human Rights and fattens the US industrial-military complex to�the tune of�billions of�dollars while merrily exporting demented Wahhabi/Salafi-jihadism from�MENA (Middle East-Northern Africa) to�Europe and from�the Caucasus to�East Asia.
And yet major trouble looms. Erratic King Salman's move of�appointing his son, the supremely arrogant and supremely ignorant Prince Mohammad bin Salman to�number two in�the line of�succession has been contested even among�Wahhabi hardliners.


But don't count on�petrodollar-controlled Arab media to�tell the story.

English-language TV network Al-Arabiyya, for�instance, based in�the Emirates, long financed by�House of�Saud members, and owned by�the MBC conglomerate, was bought by�none other than�Prince Mohammad himself, who will also buy MBC.

With oil at�less than $40 a barrel, largely thanks to Saudi Arabia's oil war against�both Iran and Russia, Riyadh's conventional wars are taking a terrible toll. The budget has collapsed and the House of�Saud has been forced to�raise taxes.
The illegal war on�Yemen, conducted with�full US acquiescence, led by�� who else�� Prince Mohammad, and largely carried out�by the proverbial band of�mercenaries, has instead handsomely profited al-Qaeda in�the Arabic Peninsula (AQAP), just as�the war on�Syria has profited mostly Jabhat al-Nusra, a.k.a. al-Qaeda in�Syria.


Three months ago, Saudi ulemas called for�a jihad not only against�Damascus but�also Tehran and Moscow without�the "civilized" West batting an eyelid; after�all the ulemas were savvy enough to�milk the "Russian aggression" bandwagon, comparing the Russian intervention in�Syria, agreed with�Damascus, with�the 1979 Soviet invasion of�Afghanistan.

US Think Tankland revels in�spinning that the beheading provocation was a "signal" to�Tehran that Riyadh will not tolerate Iranian influence among�Shias living in�predominantly Sunni states. And yet Beltway cackle that Riyadh hoped to�contain "domestic Shia tensions" by�beheading al-Nimr does not even qualify as�a lousy propaganda script. To see why this is nonsense, let's take a quick tour of�Saudi Arabia's Eastern province.

All Eyes on�Al Sharqiyya

Saudi Arabia is essentially a huge desert island. Even though the oil hacienda is bordered by�the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, the Saudis don't control what matters: the key channels of�communication/energy exporting bottlenecks�� the Bab el-Mandeb and the Straits of�Hormuz, not to�mention the Suez canal.

Enter US "protection" as�structured in�a Mafia-style "offer you can't refuse" arrangement; we guarantee safe passage for�the oil export flow through�our naval patrols and you buy from�us, non-stop, a festival of�weapons and host our naval bases alongside�other GCC minions. The "protection" used to�be provided by�the former British empire. So Saudi Arabia�� as�well as�the GCC�� remains essentially an Anglo-American satrapy.
Al Sharqiyya�� the Eastern Province of�Saudi Arabia�� holds only 4 million people, the overwhelming majority Shias. And yet it produces no less than�80% of�Saudi oil. The heart of�the action is the provincial capital Al Qatif, where Nimr al-Nimr was born. We're talking about�the largest oil hub on�the planet, consisting of�12 crisscrossed pipelines that connect to�massive Gulf oil terminals such as�Dhahran and Ras Tanura.


Enter the strategic importance of�neighboring Bahrain. Historically, all the lands from�Basra in�southern Iraq to�the peninsula of�Musandam, in�Oman�� traditional trade posts between�Europe and India�� were known as�Bahrain ("between two seas").

Tehran could easily use neighboring Bahrain to�infiltrate Al Sharqiyya, detach it from�Riyadh's control, and configure a "Greater Bahrain" allied with�Iran. That's the crux of�the narrative peddled by�petrodollar-controlled media, the proverbial Western "experts", and incessantly parroted in�the Beltway.

There's no question Iranian hardliners cherish the possibility of�a perpetual Bahraini thorn on�Riyadh's side. That would imply weaponizing a popular revolution in�Al Sharqiyya.� But the fact is not even Nimr al-Nimr was in�favor of�a secession of�Al Sharqiyya.

And that's also the view of�the Rouhani administration in�Tehran. Whether disgruntled youth across�Al Sharqiyya will finally have had enough with�the beheading of�al-Nimr it's another story; it may open a Pandora's box that will not exactly displease the IRGC in�Tehran.

But the heart of�the matter is that Team Rouhani perfectly understands the developing Southwest Asia chapter of�the New Great Game, featuring the re-emergence of�Iran as�a regional superpower; all of�the House of�Saud's moves, from�hopelessly inept to�major strategic blunder, betray utter desperation with�the end of�the old order.

That spans everything from�an unwinnable war (Yemen) to�a blatant provocation (the beheading of�al-Nimr) and a non sequitur such as�the new Islamic 34-nation anti-terror coalition which most alleged members didn't even know they were a part of.
The supreme House of�Saud obsession rules, drenched in�fear and loathing: the Iranian "threat".


Riyadh, which is clueless on�how to�play geopolitical chess�� or backgammon�� will keep insisting on�the oil war, as�it cannot even contemplate a military confrontation with�Tehran. And everything will be on�hold, waiting for�the next tenant of�1600 Pennsylvania Avenue; will he/she be tempted to�pivot back to�Southwest Asia, and cling to�the old order (not likely, as�Washington relies on�becoming independent from�Saudi oil)? Or will the House of�Saud be left to�its own�� puny�� devices among�the shark-infested waters of�hardcore geopolitics?

The views expressed in�this article are solely those of�the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of�Sputnik.

By Sputnik