Saudi Arabia's Diplomatic Diversification: China, Iran, and Russia Deals.

Saudi Arabia's recent deals with China, Iran, and Russia are part of a broader diversification of the kingdom's international relationships that has unfolded over the past decade. The relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia has frayed since the Arab Spring protests in the early 2010s, leaving the kingdom to broaden its international relationships, with particular attention on China. Meanwhile, the Saudi outreach to Iran has been more than three years in the making, and the Saudi deal with Iran and choice of China as an intermediary is consistent with a deeper shift in Saudi foreign policy.