Bloomberg Surveillance · Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Ellen Wald suggests that while the Sunni-Shia religious divide remains significant, its political influence is waning. She points to Iran's support for Hamas, a Sunni group, and the evolving relationships within the Gulf, noting that countries like the UAE are navigating complex ties between Iran's regional power and traditional allies.
“So I do think that While the Sunni Shia split is very important in a religious sense, I do think that politically it's probably becoming less of an issue. And we've seen that in a number of fronts, you know, I think that the most prominent is really the Iranian support for Hamas. Hamas is a predominantly Sunni group.”
“But I do think that we are seeing the growth and prominence in fact of kind of mixed areas. Look at the United Arab Emirates. This is a region that has traditionally, you know, it is it is a Sunni, you know country, but it is traditionally very close to Iran and Persia, and I think we're seeing that playing out in real time as a lot of these Gulf countries are kind of caught between Iran's orbit on one hand and Iran as the growing regional power, and you know, on the other hand, their traditional allies.”