And Iran

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/02/politics/barack-obama-2016-wish-list/

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/01/03/444332/Iran-tells-banks-to-prepare-for-bans-removal/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/saudi-executions-nimr-iran_56893488e4b014efe0dab27d

http://irannewsupdate.com/news/nuclear/2505-obama-administration-promoting-iran-economic-growth-and-collaboration.html

…...............................................................

Some of my earliest political memories are of yellow ribbons on pine trees, during the Iranian Hostage Fiasco.
At the time, I remembered an issue of National Geographic from the 60's(I have my dad's and my grandad's stashes) on the Shah, Pahlavi, and the Peacock Throne....and re-read that, as well as a long Wander through the Giant Deluxe Set of Britannica on the history and culture of the region, going back to pre-historic times.
They did not leave out the Post-World War 1 rejiggering of borders, nor Operation Ajax; although they were not near explicit enough to engender much outrage.
Those two events are why there's a beef between Iran and the USA(and UK).
Remarkably, France was a party to the first thing...redrawing the maps...but the are relatively friendly with Iran, today. Britain, too, seems rather less hostile than we do.
The Islamic Revolution was a direct response to Operation Ajax, however, and the government we thereby created.
We're still mad about those people having the audacity to throw off our approved dictator, and withhold their oil....and they're still mad about us being mad.... as well as about that whole Coup d'etat thing.(see:”Savak”)

Obama seems to have changed this, or at least made a beginning to changing it.
Simultaneously, Saudi Arabia may have finally run out of sufficient oil reserves to coddle any longer.
(all the exportation of Wahabi-ism and box cutter wielding lunatics, and the whole Burqa, wimmens can't drive business, has likely helped to sour that relationship,too)
Iran still has oil...and a lot of Natgas...and they're buddies with now-Shia Iraq...who also has a lot of oil(last big pool of light sweet).

This looks like a Big Pivot in the making, to me.

It's also worth thinking about how much the GOP relies on Saudi money...lol.
(And by extension, Corporate America)

One could be extremely cynical, and posit that the current insanity in Syria is part of this Chessboard...and that Damascus would make a fine pipeline route...one that doesn't entail big slow-moving tankers/targets lined up in the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea or Suez.
If one were extremely cynical...