Similarly, Iran also accused Saudi Arabia of setting political conditions on Iranian pilgrims, such as banning them from flying on Iranian airlines to enter the kingdom, restricting their religious freedom and slandering them through official religious sermons.
For instance, last year, Sheikh Mohammed Al Mohaisany, a Saudi imam, said during his sermon in the Grand Mosque in Mecca, “We fervently ask you God to help our mujahedeen brethren in Yemen, the Levant and Iraq to defeat the atheist rejectionists [Shiites], the treacherous Jews and the hateful Christians.”
He went on, “Our war against Iran is a war between Shiites and Sunnis, a war of faith and religions. It is a sectarian war par excellence.” Of note, Mohaisany holds several high-level positions in the kingdom. There was also a recent fatwa from the Saudi grand mufti declaring Iranian Shiites infidels.
Ultimately, both parties fail to understand that expanding the conflict sphere and exploiting religion will threaten their own domestic security in the long run.
In fact, there is a large Shiite minority in Saudi Arabia that shares the same doctrine as Iranian Shiites, while in Iran there is a large Sunni minority that shares the beliefs of Sunni Saudis.
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