challenges to absorb their attention and wo n't necessarily be focused on foreign policy for some time . With these caveats , however , here are four predictions about the new Arab order . 1 -RRB- Dividing the region into two `` camps '' is an oversimplification In recent years , many analysts and policy makers saw a `` pro-Western '' camp , led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt , opposed to a self-styled `` resistance '' camp of Iran , Syria , Hezbollah and Hamas . But new political players will probably want to avoid being forced into these old categories . Emerging political players in Egypt and Tunisia , whether Islamist or secular , generally do not want their countries to look like either Saudi Arabia or Iran . Representative governments would not be as reflexively pro-Western as their predecessors . They are likely to be more pro-Palestinian , and more sympathetic to the fact that Hamas and Hezbollah are both popularly-elected movements , but they will also be wary of Iran . Analysts have also written about the countries of the revolution versus the countries of the counter-revolution , meaning the Gulf states . But the Gulf
London -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran have increased this year , particularly over Bahrain and Syria , and relations are likely to worsen on the news of the alleged Iranian plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington . But ironically , the rise of more representative governments in key Arab countries poses risks to both Iran and Saudi Arabia . While each country will seek to defend its allies against uprisings -LRB- for Saudi Arabia , the Bahraini ruling family ; and for Iran , the Syrian regime -RRB- , neither will be able to control or dominate the changing regional dynamics -- and both have reasons to worry about the risk of unrest at home . The news comes at a time when regional relationships are in flux . The ongoing domestic political changes in a number of key countries -- especially Egypt , Tunisia , Libya and Syria -- will create new foreign alliances and rivalries . There are few certainties . It is not yet clear whether these countries will become democratic in the near future , or which parties will be empowered . New political players have plenty of domestic