The death last week of Prince Saud al-Faisal, the respected statesman who had been foreignminister of Saudi Arabia for 40 years until this spring, prompted comment about the kingdom’sapparent transition from diplomacy behind the scenes to a policy of confrontation withIran, the Sunni Arab realm’s Shia and Persian rival for regional hegemony.

费萨尔亲王(Prince Saud Al-Faisal)担任沙特外交大臣长达40年，直至今年春季才卸任。这位备受尊敬的政治家于近日病逝，外界随即评论称，沙特明显正从幕后外交转向与伊朗正面对抗。两国是争夺地区霸权的对手，沙特王国是逊尼派掌权的阿拉伯国家，而伊朗是什叶派掌权国家，人口以波斯人为主。

There is some truth in this. Prince Saud was by instinct a bridge-builder. Saudi foreign policy atthe moment seems to be burning a lot of bridges. King Salman, who succeeded the late KingAbdullah in January and recentralised power around himself and his family, served notice inMarch that he would fight Shia fire with Sunni fire.

上述说法有几分道理。费萨尔亲王天生是一位“修桥人。目前沙特的外交政策似乎正在烧掉大量的桥梁。萨勒曼(Salman)在今年1月接替阿卜杜拉(King Abdullah)出任沙特国王，他将权力重新集中在他本人及他的家族周围。萨勒曼国王在3月份宣称，逊尼派将对什叶派以牙还牙。

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