Saudi intervention destabilizing Arab world, says intelligence agency

Berlin (dpa) - Saudi Arabia‘s "impulsive policy of intervention" in conflict-stricken Yemen and elsewhere in the region is destabilizing the Arab world, the German foreign intelligence agency said in an report released on Wednesday."The careful diplomatic stance of older members of the Saudi royal family has been replaced by an impulsive policy of intervention," the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) said in its report, referring to Riyadh‘s decision to quell an insurgency mounted by Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen.The report highlights the regional power struggle between Shia-ruled Iran and Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, which shares a long border with Yemen, arguing that there has been significant escalation due to ongoing Arab conflicts including the war in Syria.Riyadh is pushing for the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and has provided financial and military assistance to several rebel groups engaged in a civil war that was prompted in 2011 by a brutal government crackdown on peaceful protests.The report says that Saudi Arabia‘s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Salman, who is also the Saudi monarch‘s son, is implementing costly reforms in an effort to position himself for royal succession, thus causing tensions within the royal family, alienating the Saudi population, as well as creating tensions with regional allies.The BND also analyses other possible reasons for the Saudi policy shift, arguing that the country‘s rivalry with Iran has been exacerbated by the fact that the United States is no longer perceived as a powerful ally and stabilizing force in the region.