Saudi Arabia has long sought to be the dominant power in the Middle East and there is speculation Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman himself urged President Donald Trump to go ahead with the bombing of Iran on February 28. But in the past few years the kingdom has been softening its stance towards its formal rival, and Saudi Arabia has been diversifying its economy away from oil production. So who will emerge stronger after this war?

• Guest: Simon Mabon, Professor of International Politics at Lancaster University, specialising in Saudi-Iranian relations, and author of The Struggle for Supremacy in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia and  Iran, published by Cambridge University Press (2023)
• Producer: Catherine Zengerer