U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on January 14, 2019. (U.S. Department of State)
Confrontation with Iran
“Today, the world has a real chance to get rid of the civilizational threat that the Iranian regime represents. It is useless to talk of a “peaceful solution” unless the regime changes, and under no circumstances should the current regime be expected to change its behavior. This is not the “behavior” of this regime but its central creed.” – Yahya al-Amir, Okaz, 6.16.2019
“Raising the level of protection against new attacks… is likely in the next phase, and I expect that we will return to the [re-flagging] of Kuwaiti oil tankers during the Iraq-Iran war …it seems that we are dealing with a different Tehran, with active generals such as Qasim Soleimani in the place of relatively moderate yet powerful political leaders such as the late Hashemi Rafsanjani, whose relatives insist he was killed in a struggle for influence within the corridors of the system.” – Abdul Rahman al-Rashed, Al-Sharq al-Awsat, 6.15.2019
“Talking about Russian intervention in the US elections allows [the Democrats] to avoid talking about two things. One is the economy. Talk about this is in the interest of Trump, who exploited his skill as a businessman to devise strategies that serve the American economy and implemented most of them. He reduced the unemployment… among all segments of American society, including Blacks and Latinos, raising his popularity among these important segments ahead of the next presidential term. The other thing, which Democrats today find critical to talk about is Iran, with which Obama signed a disastrous nuclear agreement and from which Trump withdrew…” – Ahmed al-Farraj, Al-Jazirah, 6.20.2019
“No one wants war, yet Iran wants to ignite it without taking into account [potential] consequences. It will be the first and the biggest victim of it.” – Al-Riyadh Editorial, 6.22.2019
Relationship with the United States
“…the two capitals have always been keen to maintain a “spirit of camaraderie” between them. The Washington side knew that it was dealing with a strong, well-established and honest ally that worked according to its own values – they respected this and dealt with realities as they were. Riyadh likewise knew that the United States was the greatest power (even before the collapse of the Soviet Union) and dealt with this without any illusions about American interests in the region and the world.” – Sultan al-Baz’ai, Al-Hayat, 6.18.2019
Khashoggi Report from the UN
” What is happening and what always happens is that the hostile media has its material, its agenda and its tools ready, as in the case of the report of the UN Rapporteur on Wednesday when the report was announced by Al-Jazeera Qatar and the hostile Turkish media channels.” – Abdul Aziz al-Jarullah, Al-Jazirah, 6.22.2019
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