King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud's 18 months on the Saudi throne have been marked by an unprecedentedly energetic and dynamic foreign policy expanding Saudi influence. Riyadh has been far more willing to take risks in national security choices than in recent decades. In the process, the Saudis have acquired some strategic territory.
The king's decision to restore Saudi sovereignty over two uninhabited islands, Tiran and Sanafir, in the Gulf of Aqaba and take possession of them from Egypt is a prime example of his aggressiveness. Saudi kings since Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud have left the two islands under Egyptian control to avoid getting involved in the sensitive issue of passage through the Straits of Tiran. Now Riyadh plans to build a bridge across the straits to provide a land link from the kingdom to North Africa. The islands will be inhabited at least by customs and toll collectors.