MIDDLE EAST
Map: Sunni and Shiite influence in the Middle East
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The suspension of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the latest salvo in a battle for influence that the two rival powers have waged in the Middle East for centuries. Their mutual antagonism has its roots in the division between the two major sects of Islam, Sunni and Shiite, which dates back to the death of the Prophet Mohammed in 632 AD.
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