It is for reasons such as this that the United States and its allies have sanctioned Iran heavily over the years. Relations improved somewhat in the Obama years because of the nuclear agreement but have worsened dramatically since Trump withdrew the United States from the accord in May. Last week, Mike Pompeo, the U.S. secretary of state, said the object of U.S. pressure was to convince “Iranian leaders to behave like a normal nation.” Yet Iran has watched mostly in silence as Saudi Arabia is being excoriated in the West precisely for not behaving like a normal nation.
Al-Monitor, a website that focuses on Middle Eastern news, noted that much of the Iranian media’s coverage of the Khashoggi story focused on relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia. “A rift between Saudi Arabia and Turkey could be welcome news to the Iranian government,” Al-Monitor wrote. “While Iran and Turkey disagree on a number of regional developments, particularly on the Syrian civil war in which they are backing opposing sides, the two countries have deep economic ties. Any conflict between Saudi Arabia and Turkey could allow Ankara-Tehran ties to deepen further while simultaneously isolating Saudi Arabia, Iran’s rival.” [...]
Prior to Trump’s interview, the Trump administration’s own public response to the Khashoggi case had been muted. Part of the challenge the U.S. faces is formulating a response to the alleged Saudi action without alienating perhaps its most important ally in the Muslim world. U.S. and Saudi interests converge on a host of issues: stable oil supplies, Islamic extremism, and, Iran’s influence in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and elsewhere. But the U.S. Congress’s move to trigger the Global Magnitsky Act, which gives the president 120 days to decide whether to impose sanctions on anyone involved with Khashoggi’s disappearance, could complicate matters: At best for Saudi Arabia, the issue remains the news for that period compounding the kingdom’s PR nightmare; at worst, the kingdom is sanctioned by its closest ally. Meanwhile, Iran, a country that is routinely called a bad actor and sanctioned, can point to Saudi Arabia and say: You’re no better than us.
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