Bridging the Gulf

In 1979, the Iranian Revolution reshaped West Asia’s power landscape. The Shah was toppled, and Ayatollah Khomeini’s Islamic Republic of Iran emerged as the new player that openly challenged American influence in the region and the legitimacy of Sunni monarchies that relied on US security guarantees.For Saudi Arabia, the leading Sunni power, the upheaval revealed the vulnerabilities of a monarchy under pressure. Later that year, when militants seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the kingdom’s fragility was laid bare.Pakistani trainers, long embedded with Saudi security forces, played a supporting role in the counter-operation, setting the stage for a defence