> Did Iran really have allies in Arab Sunni ruled countries though
Yes. Qatar due to Iran's support of the Thani family during the tumultuous 1990s [0] and the blockade [1], Sudan under Bashir [2] and now under the Army [3], Tunisia [4] due to ties with Ennadha, Algeria until 2025 [5] due to Morocco and Israel's close defense cooperation, and Kuwait due to economic and clan ties [6].
> Pretty much all of them already see non-Arab Shia Iran as an enemy
Only those states directly aligned with Saudi or the UAE (they are not the same team) view Iran with hostility becuase of Saudi Arabia and Iran's perennial rivalry over the MidEast.
Yes. Qatar due to Iran's support of the Thani family during the tumultuous 1990s [0] and the blockade [1], Sudan under Bashir [2] and now under the Army [3], Tunisia [4] due to ties with Ennadha, Algeria until 2025 [5] due to Morocco and Israel's close defense cooperation, and Kuwait due to economic and clan ties [6].
> Pretty much all of them already see non-Arab Shia Iran as an enemy
Only those states directly aligned with Saudi or the UAE (they are not the same team) view Iran with hostility becuase of Saudi Arabia and Iran's perennial rivalry over the MidEast.
[0] - https://www.danielpipes.org/6317/hamad-bin-jasim-bin-jabr-al...
[1] - https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/6/25/iran-hassan-rouhani...
[2] - https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/166344/235_Bodansky.pdf
[3] - https://www.bic-rhr.com/research/new-old-player-town-sudan-i...
[4] - https://iramcenter.org/en/inside-the-complexity-of-iran-tuni...
[5] - https://nouvellerevuepolitique.fr/hichem-aboud-comment-alger...
[6] - https://web.archive.org/web/20220717062931/http://www.payvan...