The Iran War: An existential threat to the Saudi Pro League project?

Tom Weber

• Updated: 14 Mar 2026 05:53 CDT
• 5 min read

News

The Iran War has plunged the Middle East into a devastating crisis.

The US-Israeli strikes on Iran and the subsequent retaliation from the Islamic Republic have sparked extreme political tension in the region and a humanitarian crisis of immense proportions.

Iran responded to the assassination of its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, by attacking American military bases across the Middle East and closing the Strait of Hormuz. The ramifications of the outbreak of open hostilities have been enormous, and the human cost immeasurable.

As of March 12, more than 1,000 children had lost their lives, while hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced. Israel has launched an assault on Lebanon amid the resumption of fighting with Hezbollah, while oil and gas prices soar around the globe.

Sports are secondary at such a tragic time, yet they are ultimately deeply intertwined with politics. Iran, understandably, is unlikely to participate in this summer's World Cup after being attacked by one of the host nations - and the first-ever winner of FIFA's Peace Prize.

Football in the Middle East resumes - but what will the summer bring?

In light of Iran's retaliatory strikes, which have targeted most of the countries in the Middle East, the AFC postponed its western Champions League games. However, in Saudi Arabia, the Pro League has continued to operate.

According to Ben Jacobs, Al-Ahli relocated the families of its star players from Dubai to Jeddah at the beginning of March due to safety concerns. The fact that this was necessary is quite remarkable and illustrates the somewhat bizarre reality of Saudi football.

Despite working in Saudi Arabia, many families, especially non-Muslim ones, opt to live in nearby countries due to more liberal laws, with Bahrain, which is around 300 miles east of Riyadh, enjoying particular popularity.

Steven Gerrard, formerly the coach of Al-Ettifaq, lived in Bahrain instead of nearby Dammam, where his club was based. However, the distance between Dammam and Bahrain is negligible. Splitting time between Dubai and Jeddah on the Red Sea coast is a completely different matter.

Although Saudi Arabia has been targeted by Iranian strikes, the attacks have not been as sustained as on other targets. Some political commentators have put this down to the formal rapprochement between the two countries in recent years.

However, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman clearly has no time for Iran. He has described the strikes on his country as "cowardly," while the Washington Post has claimed that he actively egged Donald Trump on to attack the Islamic Republic.

MbS insists that Saudi airspace is closed to the American and Israeli military, yet the evidence suggests that Saudi neutrality is a fig leaf. Further escalation is certainly possible. Pakistan has already warned Iran that it will come to the aid of Saudi Arabia if attacked, as stipulated by their mutual defence agreement signed last year.

Despite the circumstances, the Saudi Pro League has sought to maintain a veneer of normalcy. The season has continued and will seemingly not stop unless the situation in the country deteriorates markedly.

That said, players will have the chance to leave the region after this weekend, as the league is set for a multi-week break ahead of the international window.

Obviously, the situation is very fluid, so it is difficult to make predictions with any kind of certainty, but it will be interesting to see how the conflict influences the summer transfer window.

The Pro League was planning to go big this summer, reportedly shortlisting as many as 50 of the biggest stars in European football. However, whether the league will be able to continue to attract big names remains to be seen.

The Iranian attacks have severely damaged the sheen of invincibility of the US and its allies. The Islamic Republic has shown that it can and will actively threaten the glamorous Gulf states to leverage its own security. This will surely make foreign stars think twice about relocating their families to Bahrain, Dubai or indeed Riyadh.

At this point, there is no way of telling when the conflict will end. Trump has bragged that the war is basically won, but the reality looks quite different. Airstrikes and naval attacks alone will not bring a country the size of Iran to its knees.

It is difficult to imagine that Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, a presumed hardliner who lost much of his family in the attack that killed his father, has any interest in bargaining with the US and Israel, unless major concessions that will effectively amount to a resounding defeat for the US are made.

The end goal for the US and Israel is regime change, but the attack has seemingly only strengthened public support for the government. Moreover, even if the Islamic Republic were to collapse, this would hardly bring stability to the region.

After decades of US intervention across the globe, there is ample evidence to suggest that violently-imposed "freedom and democracy" more often than not has catastrophic consequences for the "liberated" countries.

If this conflict continues into the summer and beyond, the Saudi Pro League really could struggle to attract foreign stars. While this would not be the end of the league, it would be a significant setback.

After all, the league's only selling point to global audiences is that the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Riyad Mahrez and Karim Benzema play there. Beyond that, it can offer very little to non-domestic football fans.

Without global stars, the Pro League can't rival Europe's top leagues, which is ultimately the purpose of the recent large-scale investment. So, if foreign players decide that the money isn't worth it, then what else will the Pro League have going for it?

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