Tensions have been simmering for years
It is US retrenchment from the region that has been the cause of regional competition in the first place.
![Iranian demonstrators hold anti-Saudi placards in a rally to protest the execution by Saudi Arabia of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr [AP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/e9b03adefbac402c9d310f9faea139fc_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
The GCC will come back together after the storm, bruised and battered but not broken.
It is US retrenchment from the region that has been the cause of regional competition in the first place.
As with all things in Saudi Arabia, change happens slowly and at its own pace.
![Saudi women vote at a polling centre in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia [AP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ea007771cb1f4e1b8d9fe175f6c84d5c_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
If the US is not willing to play a hegemonic role in the region, then Riyadh will have to step in.
![President Barack Obama, right, meets with King Salman of Saudi Arabia in the Oval Office of the White House, on Friday, Sept. 4 [AP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/bfe3cc2df02c49bdac82350066b17c52_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
The use of chemical munitions is becoming the norm in Syria and Iraq.
![A Syrian man receives treatment at a field hospital following a chlorine gas attack by Assad regime forces in Jobar town of Damascus [Getty]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/607642cd3f674c9da2a7cb8e2aabcde8_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
The YPG may seem to be good allies on paper, but if Syria’s central regions are alienated it may cause more trouble.
The wily king appears to have understood that to keep things the same, sometimes you have to make changes.
![Prince Mohammed bin Nayef is now crown prince of Saudi Arabia [AP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/91025df81e714c55908563667e946ff4_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Saudi Arabia may balk at an Iran-backed actor gaining legitimacy through talks but it has little choice in the long run.
![Yemenis hold a poster of the King of Saudi Arabia Salman as they chant slogans during a rally to show support for Saudi-led airstrikes against Houthis [AP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/51520d13829e4c18b8037b58468fa2c1_18.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
Money and expensive toys don’t buy regional stability.
Can Saudi Arabia manage the turbulent changes in the region without its king?
![To rule in Saudi Arabia is not just a matter of being a good manager of government, writes Stephens [Getty]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2015123452429734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)