article_snippet: Analysts say it can be summed up in one word: Iran.
article_snippet: Analysts say that Shiite-majority Iran and Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia are locked in a strategic contest for influence across the Middle East.
article_snippet: Iran, northeast of Saudi Arabia, is considered to exercise powerful influence within the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in war-torn Syria and within the Shiite-led Iraqi government.