Arabs Blast "Obama's Deal" With Iran

by Khaled Abu Toameh • April 4, 2015 at 5:00 am

"This is a dangerous agreement...[It ]provides Iran with what it needs most to pursue its wars and expansionism against the Arabs: funds." -- Salah al-Mukhtar, Ammon News"

"Iran has tried to intervene in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria and it is seeing that it's not paying any price...There is also a feeling in Tehran that the U.S. is avoiding a military confrontation with the Iranians."-- Hassan al-Barari, Al-Sharq

The deal means that the international community has accepted Iran as a nuclear power." -- Hani ala-Jamal, al-Wafd

Many Arabs have expressed deep concern over the nuclear deal that was reached last week between Iran and the world powers, including the US.

Arab leaders and heads of state were polite enough not to voice public criticism of the agreement when President Barack Obama phoned them to inform them about it. But this has not stopped Arab politicians, political analysts and columnists reflecting government thinking in the Arab world from lashing out at what they describe as "Obama's bad and dangerous deal with Iran."

The Arabs, especially those living in the Gulf, see the framework agreement as a sign of US "weakness" and a green light to Iran for Iran to pursue its "expansionist" scheme in the Arab world.