Saudis Hail Trump’s Iran Policy Shift

President Donald Trump arrives to speak about Iran from the Diplomatic Reception Room at t
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
Ali Waked

TEL AVIV — Media outlets in Saudi Arabia on Saturday praised U.S. President Donald Trump’s policy speech on Friday about the nuclear deal with Iran.

The London-based international Saudi publication Asharq Al-Awsat gave Trump’s speech the headline, “Trump shakes nuclear deal with Iran … and punishes its regional conduct.” The newspaper noted that the American president demanded a change to the agreement and even indicated it may be canceled while stating that he has ordered that steps be taken to punish Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps.

The newspaper Riyadh ran a piece stating, “The kingdom supports Trump’s strategy towards Iran’s aggressive policies. The American withdrawal dooms the nuclear agreement with Tehran.”

The widely-read newspaper Okaz blasted the headline, “Riyadh and Washington, Coordination and Cooperation … Breaking the Independence of the Ayatollah’s in Qom.”

The newspaper opined that Trump’s comments were a message to the Iranian regime that the era of Iranian terror is over and the Trump administration will repel Iran’s threats and force it to change its policies, especially those of the Revolutionary Guards.

However, media outlets supporting Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood tried to claim that only Israel and Saudi Arabia are happy with the new direction of American policy. The reference to Israel was clearly intended to hurt Saudi Arabia, Qatar’s rival.

The website Arabi 21, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, used the headline, “Saudi Arabia and Israel praise Trump’s speech, Europe worried.”

Gulf-based pundits on social media also addressed Trump’s speech extensively. Former Dubai police chief Dahi Halfan wrote, “Trump’s decision about Iran is a smart one. … The Revolutionary Guard and the tools of terror used by the Guard across the world must be broken. Like Hezbollah and the Houthi collaborators.”

Saudi analyst Ibrahim al-Marie wrote, “The strategy announced by Trump protects U.S. interests in the Middle East. It’s an American step in the right direction.”

Emirati media personality and political activist Ali al-Noaimi wrote, “Saudi Arabia and the Emirates have announced their support for the strategy of American president Trump against Iran, interesting if Qatar releases a statement in opposition.”

However, Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi expressed doubts about whether Trump was serious about decertifying the Iran deal, writing, “Trump’s opening of all the cases of Iran’s violations is a good development, but I don’t expect he’ll do anything about it because if he was serious he would support the revolution in Syria, which is against Iran.”

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