Saudi Columnists: Bibi Right, Obama Wrong about Iran

Following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Tuesday address to a joint session of Congress, where he warned about the grave threats to the world posed by a potentially-nuclear Iran, the Jewish leader has received surprising support from a group of popular Saudi columnists.

Dr. Ahmad Al-Faraj of Saudi paper Al-Jazira criticized the Obama administration for its support of Islamist movements (such as the Muslim Brotherhood) during the “Arab Spring,” while praising Netanyahu for opposing the White House position on Iran.

He wrote:

Since Obama is the godfather of the prefabricated revolutions in the Arab world, and since he is the ally of political Islam, [which is] the caring mother of [all] the terrorist organizations, and since he is working to sign an agreement with Iran that will come at the expense of the U.S.’s longtime allies in the Gulf, I am very glad of Netanyahu’s firm stance and [his decision] to speak against the nuclear agreement at the American Congress despite the Obama administration’s anger and fury.

In writing “Iran’s Fingerprints Are Everywhere,” Asharq al-Awsat columnist Abdulrahman al-Rashed warned about Iran’s unchecked advances throughout the Middle East. He wrote, “Iran is currently in an offensive state, the likes of which we have not seen in modern history.”

Arab News’ Abdulateef Al-Mulhim wrote a piece on Thursday, titled “Mr. Netanyahu: Iran Is Not Just Your Enemy,” in which he spoke about the “genuine” threat of a nuclear Iran. Al-Mulhim said of Netanyahu, “If his speech will delay or cancel the Iranian nuclear program, then let him talk as loud as he could either to the AIPAC, the Congress or at the Washington Monument.”

Al Arabiya columnist Faisal J. Abbas wrote an article, which he titled “President Obama, Listen to Netanyahu on Iran.” In the piece, he admitted, “Bibi did get it right, at least when it came to dealing with Iran.”

“Despite this being perhaps the only thing that brings together Arabs and Israelis (as it threatens them all), the only stakeholder that seems not to realize the danger of the situation is President Obama,” added Abbas.