Circle the area on this map
A. Iran has the world’s largest population of Shia Muslims, while Saudi Arabia is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslims. The often bloody rivalry between Sunnis and Shiites goes back to a dispute over who was the proper successor to the Islamic Prophet Muhammad who died in 632. Religious leaders have great influence in both countries.
B. “We defend many of these nations for nothing, and then they take advantage of us by giving us high oil prices,” Trump recently told the UN. But, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said “we’ve bought everything with money” when it comes to defense. Some have linked higher fuel prices to new U.S. sanctions against Iranian oil sales.
D. Turkish officials said they believed journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate. Khashoggi had fled Saudi Arabia for the U.S. after Mohammed was named crown prince, and he has been criticizing arrests of dissidents and the war in Yemen. The prince has said about 1,500 people were detained over the past three years, calling them national security threats.
C. Saudi Arabia has led other Arab nations in trying to isolate and blockade the small Persian Gulf state of Qatar because of its diplomatic overtures to Iran and other issues. Turkey provided diplomatic and food support to Qatar during its dispute with its neighbors.