Tensions have been building for some time in Saudi Arabia's oil-rich Eastern Province, which is home to a sizeable Shiite population. In recent days, violent incidents in al-Awamiya — a village in the Eastern Province's Qatif governorate — have targeted Saudi security forces. Continued violence would be a new trend amid the Shiite unrest in the Eastern Province, where previously nonviolent demonstrations were the tactic of choice. Such violence could also give Iran an opportunity to exploit the current security situation, as Tehran has sought to use the Shia in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere to increase its influence in the Middle East.
