Until recently, the Persian Gulf region was seen as an oasis of stability in the Middle East, untouched by the wars and waves of terrorism raging throughout the region. Yes, radicalism and encouragement of terrorism have been known to come out of the region, be it from Doha or Tehran, and yes, sometimes even instructions, financial support, or even weapons (in the case of Iran), but as a general rule, calm has been maintained in the Persian Gulf and in the countries along its coastline. However, there was tension in the air between Sunni and Shiite Muslims and between Iran and the Arabs, which came to a head in events such as Iran's attempt to launch a "Shiite Spring" in mostly Shiite Bahrain in 2011. In January 2016, after the Saudis executed one of the senior Shiite religious figures in the kingdom, a furious mob burst into the Saudi embassy in Tehran and set it on fire. As a result, the two countries severed diplomatic relations. Immediately afterward followed the well-publicized incident in which members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard raided a U.S. Navy ship and took its crew members hostage. But both Saudi Arabia and Iran took care to preserve the calm in the Gulf itself, opting to wage their battle in Syria or in far-off Yemen. Washington under former President Barack Obama, for its part, was determined to improve its relations with Tehran, and opted over and over for compromise with the Islamic Republic. But recently, the storm reached the Gulf too, and the effects could be devastating. First came last week's terrorist attacks in Tehran, which would appear to signal the end of a long period of calm within Iran. The twin Islamic State attacks won't be the last -- the ease with which the terrorists penetrated the Iranian parliament and the mausoleum of Imam Khomeini will encourage more attacks. Remember, aside from the Islamic State, eastern and western Iran are home to Sunni and Arab minorities who are chafing under the ayatollahs' regime and their struggle often erupts in violence. Iran is discovering that while it might be possible to fight battles all over the Middle East, trouble begins at home, inside Iran. Washington is looking at Iran differently, too. Trump has classified Iran as a target and he is enlisting an Arab coalition to fight the Iranians. In Syria, meanwhile, the Americans are using force and repeatedly targeting Iran loyalists in the country's east. The fighters there are trying to seize control of the Syrian desert and create a contiguous land corridor directly from Tehran to Beirut. Ostensibly, these events are not connected to the recent arrest of two American citizens suspected of operating on behalf of Hezbollah in New York and Panama, but it may very well be that the U.S. has decided to confront Iranian subversion and terrorism with full force. Trump's actions have encouraged the Saudis to put more pressure on Qatar, which they see as a crony of Iran and radical Islamist groups in the Arab world. Just this weekend, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain classified 71 individuals and organizations operating in Qatar as agents of terrorism. These include one of the prominent leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a favorite of the Qatari royal family. As always, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quick to jump into the muck and declared his support for Qatar, and even expressed willingness to provide military forces to help defend it. By doing so, Erdogan single-handedly destroyed the Sunni alliance with Saudi Arabia, which is vital to the continued fight against radicalism, be it Sunni or Shiite-Iranian. There is a reason why the Persian Gulf was calm for so many years. It is still the provider of an important, even a main, source of energy for the world. It is also the backbone of the American military presence in the Middle East, since most of the American military in the region is located there. So Washington is faced with a difficult challenge: How to restore stability and calm to the Middle East while maintaining the same red lines against terror and those who support terrorism -- whether they support it directly and even orchestrate attacks in Tehran or facilitate terrorism by hosting terrorists and radicals who incite to terrorism.
