Saudis Indicate New Toughness in Iran Policy

The armed forces of Saudi Arabia went on maximum military alert after the Mecca riots last month and remain at a high state of readiness as the kingdom formulates a new and more aggressive diplomacy aimed at confronting and weakening Iran in the Muslim world, a well-placed Saudi source said Friday.

The source indicated that Saudi Arabia had already decided in principle to sever diplomatic ties with Tehran because of rioting by Iranian militants at the Muslim holy city of Mecca in which more than 400 people died.

He indicated that the implementation of the decision was being delayed pending further attempts to persuade other Arab states to also break diplomatic relations with Iran.

‘We’ve Had Enough’

“Until now, Iran has always held the initiative, while we and the other (Persian) Gulf states merely reacted to it,” the source said, speaking on the condition that he not be identified. “But we have had enough of the Iranians. They have pushed us beyond our tolerance level. . . . Now it is time for us to take the initiative and put them on the defensive for a change.”

The new approach toward Iran has already taken the form of an unusually vigorous and vituperative propaganda campaign that, along with other diplomatic maneuvers, is aimed at “demolishing the Iranians, politically and Islamically,” in the Muslim world, the source said.

Indeed, foreign diplomats here say they are both surprised and impressed by the assertiveness of the campaign, which they note is virtually unprecedented for the traditionally cautious and consensus-minded Saudis.

Deep Shock and Anger

They said it reflects the deep sense of shock and anger felt by the Saudis over the Mecca incident, in which Iranian militants clashed with Saudi police during an anti-American demonstration. The diplomats also said the Saudi change also reflects the growing realization that their previous policy of appeasement toward Iran has failed.

The Mecca riots dramatized an ancient split between two major branches of Islam, the Sunni sect to which most of the Muslim world--including the Saudi majority--belongs, and the Shia sect, the fundamentalist faith of Iran and its leadership.

The Saudi source, whose unusually candid briefing for reporters appeared to be a part of the vigorous propaganda campaign, agreed with the diplomatic assessment.

“I think we are rediscovering a strength that previously we shied away from,” he said. “In the past, we tried to avoid antagonizing the Iranians as much as possible. But now we’re telling them to ‘put up or shut up.’ ”

The source disclosed that on July 31, several hours after the Mecca riots had ended, the Saudi armed forces were placed on “Defcon 1,” a military term borrowed from the Pentagon that stands for “Defense Condition 1,” the highest of several grades of military alert.

That status was downgraded a few days later, but Saudi forces remain on a higher than normal state of alert, the source said.

Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia’s interior minister, Prince Nayif ibn Abdulaziz, said that in the wake of the Mecca unrest, Iran was planning to undertake a terrorist offensive against Saudi interests, including its embassies and civilian airliners. He did not elaborate, but Saudi leaders clearly were worried enough about the threat of Iranian-sponsored terrorism to order members of the Royal Family home from European vacations.

Saudi Arabia has not said how it would react to a terrorist attack, but Nayif and other officials have strongly suggested that the response would be a military one.

“We have not been buying toys for the past 15 years,” the source said Friday, referring to Saudi arms purchases. “Saudi Arabia is not a weak country militarily. We are not suddenly becoming macho or looking for a confrontation. But at the same time, we have to convince Iran that we mean business.”

Although diplomats here find this stiffer new Saudi resolve toward Iran impressive, they said that how far it will go is an open question.

There is no indication, for instance, that Saudi Arabia would be willing to use the power that its large oil reserves and production capacity give it to force down prices, which could seriously impair Iran’s ability to continue financing its nearly seven-year-old war with Iraq.

Balks at Improved Ties

And despite Saudi suggestions that they might respond militarily if provoked by Iran, Saudi Arabia is still extremely reluctant to expand significantly or raise the profile of the military cooperation it discreetly extends to the United States.

Over the past few weeks, the Saudis have responded positively to several American requests for help in supporting the huge U.S. naval operation to protect Kuwaiti tankers in the Persian Gulf.

The four U.S.-operated airborne warning and control system radar planes based in Riyadh since 1980 are said to have broadened their reconnaissance flights over the gulf, while the four minesweepers in the Saudi fleet have been helping to clear mines not only from Saudi coastal waters but from sea lanes in areas that are of “economic interest to Saudi Arabia,” the Saudi source said.

It is also understood that the Saudis have quietly agreed to allow U.S. aircraft involved in the gulf escort missions to land at Saudi bases in the event of emergency.

However, the Saudis are still unwilling to go beyond this, despite the stake they and the other moderate gulf states have in seeing the U.S. escort operation succeed, the diplomats said.

Domestic and regional considerations, among them the desire not to antagonize Iran any more than necessary, account for part of this reticence to be too closely identified with the United States.

But another, more important, reason, the Saudi source said, involves doubts about whether the United States has the resolve to see the gulf war through, or to maintain its naval presence in the event of hostilities or terrorist attacks that cost American lives.

Staying Power Questioned

“People are not sure if you have the staying power,” he said . “They’re not sure you won’t pull the Marine trick and go home.” He said referring to the U.S. decision to pull out of Lebanon after the terrorist bombing in 1983 of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in which 241 servicemen were killed.