Saudi Arabia confronted with Iran's challenge

Feeling encircled by rebellious and seemingly pro-Iran Arab masses in neighbouring countries, Saudi Arabia has reportedly offered to assist Bahrain's ruling house. So far, the oil -rich Saudi Arabia is still stable. Like it or not , the very critical question now is whether Saudi Arabia can convince the Shi'ite-majority population in Bahrain to support the Sunni monarchy in that puny kingdom after it itself has failed to stop the Sunni -majority crowds in Egypt from causing Mubarak's downfall. As a result of the widespread upheavals in countries on its periphery, Saudi Arabia is becoming increasingly newsworthy in the US and Iran. An Oxford University historian, Dr. Mark Almond has opined that the process of democratization in the region will be bumpy "for decades".

Saudi Arabia feels heat of region-wide unrest