Riyadh Makes Cautious Statement on Iran Deal as Saudi Newspaper Cartoons Ridicule Talks
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by Joshua Levitt
Asharq Al Awsat editorial cartoon, on November, 26, 2013. Photo: Screenshot / Asharq Al Awsat.
The Saudi Arabian government broke its silence on the six-month deal to lift sanctions on the Iran regime reached at the weekend, with a terse statement after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday in Riyadh. Meanwhile, the country’s newspapers ridiculed the agreement in very critical political cartoons.
Al Watan editorial cartoon, on November, 26, 2013. Photo: Screenshot / Al Watan.
“We hope that the nuclear agreement between the six powers and Iran will be a first step towards a comprehensive solution,” Prince Salman Ben Abdul Aziz said in a statement, according to Israeli daily Ma’ariv. “We hope that the goodwill will lead to a final agreement with Iran that will lead to the removal of weapons of mass destruction and ensure the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.”
Actsadih Saudi editorial cartoon, on November, 26, 2013. Photo: Screenshot / Actsadih Saudi.
Saudi daily Asharq Al Awsat portrayed Uncle Sam trying to choose his next card in a poker game against a smiling Ayatollah playing with six hands.
Al Watan shows a smiling U.S. President Barack Obama, saying “The nuclear agreement will open the way for a safer world,” while shaking the hand of an Ayatollah whose other arm is morphing into octopus tentacles, representing the regime’s undisclosed plans for the region.
Al Eqtisadiah, a business paper, showed an Uncle Sam cowboy, walking away from the Middle East with a long document in hand, leaving behind the “Arab” Countries, represented by a torn sign left on the ground.
