EXAMPLE OF THE LONG-RUNNING RIVALRY AND DISTRUST between Saudi Arabia and its neighbor on the northern side of the Persian Gulf, Iran, is a Saudi plan to build a canal that would cross Saudi Arabia's vast Empty Quarter desert and connect the Gulf with the Arabian Sea. Such a project, 1,000 kilometers in length, would take years to build, and would serve as a new passageway for oil tankers laden with Saudi crude headed to world markets. The very idea sounds far-fetched, but it exemplifies concern that official relations with Iran could become so hostile that Tehran will someday close the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic funnel at the mouth of the Gulf through which millions of barrels of Saudi oil flow every day.
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