The Iran–Iraq War and the Analysis of Geopolitical Threat Perceptions in Saudi Arabia

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 M.A. in Geography and Sacred Defense, Department of Geography, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran

2 Department of Geography, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran

3 Associate Professor of International Relations, Department of Asian Studies, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

10.22124/wp.2026.32884.3638

Abstract

One of the most significant actors whose geopolitical threat perceptions were profoundly influenced by The Iran–Iraq war (1980-1988) was Saudi Arabia. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to examine how Iran was perceived as a threat and how Saudi Arabia responded within the context of the Iran–Iraq War. In This research data collected through library-based sources and analyzed using discourse analysis. The findings indicate that Saudi Arabia initially perceived Iran as an ideological, political, and security threat and, by focusing on its own geostrategic vulnerabilities, not only represented Iran as a multilayered threat but also implemented a policy of active containment accompanied by multi-level countermeasures. These measures included support for Iraq, the establishment of regional institutions, the instrumental use of oil, …. The results demonstrate that Saudi Arabia’s geopolitical threat perceptions were not merely a product of battlefield conditions, but rather the outcome of a complex interaction among ideological, security, and geoeconomic perceptions, which laid the foundations for Iran-containment policies in subsequent decades.

Keywords

References

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