Iran and the US: United over Afghanistan?

In AsiaTimes, here

"...United States efforts to make progress in Afghanistan could to a large extent depend on what happens in two of its key allies - Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. A report by Simon Henderson for the think-tank The Washington Institute reveals an imbroglio within Saudi Arabia and speculates that given the serious ill health of Crown Prince Sultan and the deteriorating health of King Abdullah, the next few months could pose a serious challenge for American policy makers.,,,,,,"Washington hopes to avoid an internal Saudi royal dispute ... Riyadh will be allergic to external interference or advice on such matters, but the outcomes of the probable transitions in the next few months will be of intense interest to the United States and much of the world,"

In Pakistan, meanwhile, the situation in the most important non-NATO US ally in the "war on terror" is as unstable...."