While the current conflict is largely a war involving three countries — two vs one, Iran’s decision to bomb Gulf countries in retaliation of US-Israeli strikes has brought to fore the decades-old Shia-Sunni tensions, always simmering underneath
The killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israel joint offensive and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks across Gulf states have renewed global attention on the region’s long-standing sectarian divide between Shia and Sunni Muslims.
Although the current conflict is primarily geopolitical — centred on Iran’s nuclear programme, its regional influence, and a complex web of proxies — it is often interpreted through the lens of this sectarian divide.
Although the current conflict is primarily geopolitical — centred on Iran’s nuclear programme, its regional influence, and a complex web of proxies — it is often interpreted through the lens of this sectarian divide.