Actually, i think the best ties Iran has with an Arab Sunni country is with Oman? Or maybe I'm wrong?
Yes, they are heavily influenced by Arabs but they speak Persian, enjoy Persian music, culture is Persian and etc. Persians was a marine nation. Not always. But to say it never were is just silly.
Anyway, the thing is the Southern Iranians, don't consider themselves Arab either. They consider themselves Iranian. Which is why Saddam made the mistake to think that they would join him when he invaded and when he started the whole Persians vs Arab thing. Which they didn't but instead fought against him. Because they were and are Iranians.
Yeah i guess, but still a lot of Arab countries have had leaders who were originally in the Military.
As did many around the world.
And i think Ibn Saud had to reconquer large parts of KSA from the Al Rashid, and consolidated his control over the Najd in 1922?
But as you say, history is history.
Yes, forgot Oman. They are probably even more close.
Yes, I am sure they do that. Well, did I write "never"? Well what I mean is that you were not really seafarers as the Arabs were for example. Or Portuguese or Spaniards. I mean on the international scale like all 3 were. More regional scale.
I never said that Southern Iranians consider themselves Arabs. That would be a very stupid thing to say. All I said was that most of the about 1.5 million Iranian Arabs live in mainly Southern Iran along the coastline and that the region of coastal Southern Iran has been influenced by Arabs and also the other way - mainly in what is now Bahrain and parts of UAE.
Because they like most Iranians of that time were religious. Arabs are fighting among each. Iranians are fighting among each other. Just look at those supporting the regime or not inside Iran. Everybody fights among each other. Even families do. Hence why you can have a father and son that hates each other or brother and brother or daughter and mother and sister and sister. You name it.
Yes (too many of them), but those leaders did not proclaim themselves as royalty but were just deposits/autocrats/dictators. A good example was al-Gadaffi who, talking about rulers, was the second longest ruling non-royal ruler in history next after Fidel Castro.
The Al-Rasheed family, which ruled the Emirate of Jabal Shammar (because they ruled a part of Najd dominated by the mountain range of Shammar) ruled large parts of Najd but not the territories controlled by the House of Saud. All those local rulers are confusing. There were really a lot. Each village had its own sheikh/emir nearly LOL. It is famous because there is a saying that each arab claims to be a ruler/prince because some ancestors of his ruled. As a reference to all the rulers.
There is a quite famous London based journalist, granddaughter of the last Al-Rasheed ruler and she is quite vocal in her criticism of KSA. Probably is due to her families background and some disagreements.
Madawi al-Rasheed is her name. Don't agree with her much must be said.