Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are also reaching out to Iran for talks that, if successful, could defuse a host of proxy wars that have plagued the Middle East for decades. While diplomacy between Riyadh and Tehran remains dull and frustrating -- at least according to the Saudi ambassador to the United Nations -- negotiations continue, despite the animosity and suspicion that have accumulated since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. The fact that the talks have not broken down is itself an achievement.