Calgary is unlike most other cities.
It is a city of 1.2 million people separated from its two nearest urban neighbours by 300 kilometres of prairie and 1,000 kilometres of mountains.
Yet as a city Calgary’s economic fortunes are affected less by the surrounding landscapes and neighbouring cities, and more by difficult-to-comprehend and impossible-to-influence decisions made on the other side of the planet.
For better or for worse Calgary’s well-being and prospects hinge on the world price of oil.
Here is a look at the escalating rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia and what its impact might be on Calgary.
The history of the rivalry
We have visited and worked in both countries.
To Alberta eyes there are many similarities between the two Middle Eastern countries ruled by adherents of Islam.
But that only makes the rivalry more difficult to understand.
So, what are the differences between the two countries? What is the historical basis of this national rivalry?
Why is it heightened today?
And does all this have any implications for Calgary’s economic fortunes as a city tied in to the global oil market?
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran are the largest and most powerful countries in the Middle East.
Ethnically Saudi Arabia is Arab while Iran is predominantly Persian.
Saudis speak Arabic, while Iranians speak Farsi.
Shi’ite Muslims try to cross a barricade during a protest against the execution of cleric Nimr al-Nimr, who was executed along with others in Saudi Arabia, in front of Saudi Arabia embassy in New Delhi, India, January 4, 2016. (Adnan Abidi/Reuters)
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