Disagreement Among Principlists Regarding Developments in Saudi Arabia

The newspaper Shargh headlines "The End of the King": "King Abdullah, the 90-year-old Saudi monarch, passed away early on Friday after ten years of rule at the medical complex of the royal guard in Riyadh, leading the House of Saud to face a flood of condolence messages from world leaders; leaders who each mourn the lifeless body of King Abdullah for different reasons." Zeynab Ismaili, in her report for Shargh, refers to the condolence messages sent by Hassan Rouhani, the President of the Islamic Republic, and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, mentioning messages from leaders of various countries ranging from Arab and regional nations to European and Israeli leaders regarding King Abdullah's death. She writes: "The winner of this competition, as expected, was Barack Obama, the President of the United States, who was the first leader to express his sorrow over King Abdullah's passing" and "praised the late Saudi king as a frank and courageous leader." Arash Farrokhzad, in a report for the newspaper Farhikhtegan, titled "The Peace-Seeking King Instead of the Reformist Sultan," writes: King Salman, "the new king of Saudi Arabia, is known in internal circles as a pragmatic and conservative reformist who seeks peace." The newspaper Etemad headlines "King Salman, the King of Oil," referring to "King Salman" as the "King of Oil" and stating that with the death of King Abdullah on Friday, "the King of Oil" ascended to the throne in Saudi Arabia, noting that "King Salman knows more about oil than previous kings of Saudi Arabia, as his son has long been the 'Prince of Oil.'" Mohammad Shariati Dehghan, a former Iranian ambassador to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, wrote in a note for Etemad: "Changes after King Abdullah are imperceptible." The newspaper Iran, close to the government, also published images of King Abdullah and King Salman on its front page, describing King Abdullah's death as "the death of the king who failed in reforms." Jafar Haqpanah, a university professor and regional affairs expert, emphasized in an editorial for Iran that "at this sensitive stage, which is the formation of new leadership in Riyadh, it is necessary for Iran's official policy to be declared more clearly so that the behavior of some non-governmental circles and movements, which may be recognized by Arab parties as opposing interaction and de-escalation, is not perceived as the main outlook and prevailing policy in our country." Reports and analyses published in newspapers close to various factions of the principlists, despite apparent similarities, indicate differing assessments of the implications of the Saudi king's death. The newspaper Vatan-e-Emruz, close to the Stability Front, welcomed King Abdullah's death as "the blossoming of Islamic awakening in Arab countries" and referred to King Salman, the new king of Saudi Arabia, as the "king of no power," while the newspaper Kayhan, published under the supervision of Ali Khamenei's representative, reported a "silent coup in the Saudi court" and emphasized that King Salman "initiated a silent coup in the very first hours of his ascension to power, effectively removing almost all rivals and potential claimants to the throne." The newspaper Javan, close to the Revolutionary Guards, also wrote: "Given the prevailing conditions in the Saudi monarchy, it is not expected that King Abdullah's death and the appointment of a new successor will bring about changes in the policies of this country, especially in Riyadh's foreign policy towards Tehran and Israel." The newspaper Donya-ye-Eqtesad, while reviewing "oil scenarios after the death of the Saudi king," wrote: "Simultaneously with the announcement of King Abdullah's death, oil prices in global markets faced an increase of less than one dollar, whereas earlier predictions indicated a rise in oil prices following his death." The newspaper Jahane San'at reported on a "new round of collecting brokers by order of the Central Bank" and the prohibition of street currency transactions, while the newspaper Te'adol described the statements of Gholamali Kamiab, the Central Bank's currency deputy, as the "order to arrest currency brokers." The newspaper Iran dedicated its front page to the question "Why was the Iranian team eliminated?" stating: "The Iranian national football team, after three consecutive victories in the group stage, lost to Iraq in the quarter-finals and failed to advance to the semi-finals, a defeat that occurred in penalty shootouts." This newspaper also printed statements from six football experts, including Ebrahim Ghasempour, Mehdi Tatar, Siros Dinmohammadi, Hossein Abdi, Mehrdad Minavand, and Pejman Jamshidi, stating: "The Australian referee, by expelling Mehrdad Pooladi and unjustly reducing Iran to ten men, effectively disarmed the Iranian team. This incident, in the opinion of most experts, changed the course of the game." The newspaper Shahrevand also featured a photo of the expulsion of Mehrdad Pooladi from the match against Iraq, stating: "The referee's decision in the 43rd minute of the match caused all of Queiroz's plans for continuing this match to fall apart, and it is likely that we will witness criticisms from Iranians for a long time." The newspaper Etemad also dedicated its front page to a scene from the end of the match between Iran and Iraq, describing the Iranian national football team's defeat as a "heroic defeat" and stating: "A fatal refereeing mistake and misfortune in the penalties brought a bitter end to the brightest display of recent years for the Iranian national team." The newspaper Shargh reported in an article titled "Farewell to the First-Class Translator" about "Kikavous Jahandari," stating: Kikavous Jahandari, a translator, "after days of battling respiratory illness, finally succumbed to death on Thursday, February 21. This prominent German translator translated various texts in different fields, providing first-class materials for Persian speakers, ranging from literature to history and Iranian studies." The newspaper Arman reported in an article titled "Girls' Reluctance to Become Doctors," stating: "The increase in the number of girls attending university in recent years has been a matter of repeated attention," but "according to the recent remarks of Leila Flahati, head of the Women's Studies Group at the Ministry of Science, girls' university attendance is more limited to the undergraduate level, to the extent that in the master's and doctoral levels, this figure decreases to one-third." Simultaneously, the newspaper Shahrevand reported on its front page, quoting Shahindokht Molaverdi, the Vice President for Women and Family Affairs, about "82 percent unemployment among female heads of households." This newspaper also quoted Akbar Rajabi, the CEO of the Torab Bi-Neshan Association, who referred to "the existence of 500 homeless women in Tehran" and stated: "In Tehran, there are 10,000 to 15,000 homeless men and 500 homeless women, while this figure is constantly increasing, to the extent that four years ago, the number of homeless women in Tehran was 200." Saudi Arabia after King Abdullah; the peace-seeking king instead of the reformist sultan. The newspaper Shargh headlines "The End of the King": "King Abdullah, the 90-year-old Saudi monarch, passed away early on Friday after ten years of rule at the medical complex of the royal guard in Riyadh, leading the House of Saud to face a flood of condolence messages from world leaders; leaders who each mourn the lifeless body of King Abdullah for different reasons, but the winner of this competition, as expected, was Barack Obama, the President of the United States, who was the first leader to express his sorrow over King Abdullah's passing" and "praised the late Saudi king as a frank and courageous leader." This newspaper, referring to the beginning of King Salman's reign, emphasized that "the title of heir to the Saudi throne has passed to the second generation of the House of Saud." The newspaper Shargh also reported that following King Abdullah's death, "Hassan Rouhani, the president, and Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani sent separate condolence messages," stating: "Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, will represent the Islamic Republic at the official ceremony to be held on Saturday." This newspaper noted that "Israeli officials have also praised King Abdullah from a different perspective," stating: "The key role of Saudi Arabia in organizing the Arab peace plan in 2002 was enough for Shimon Peres, the former President of Israel, to speak of King Abdullah's death as a great loss for achieving peace in the Middle East." According to Shargh, senior officials from other European powers, such as Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, and Francois Hollande, the President of France, also commemorated King Abdullah, referring to his significant role in modernizing Saudi Arabia and establishing bilateral dialogues with the Western world. Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, also mentioned in his condolence message, aside from King Abdullah's efforts in the fight against terrorism, his influential role in improving the social and economic conditions of the people and developing social institutions in Saudi Arabia. The newspaper Farhikhtegan, in a report titled "The Peace-Seeking King Instead of the Reformist Sultan," wrote: "Those who expected that with King Abdullah's death, reforms in Saudi Arabia would accelerate should not have much hope for Salman bin Abdulaziz, the half-brother of the late king, who officially became the king of Saudi Arabia yesterday with the formal announcement of King Abdullah's death." Arash Farrokhzad, in a report for the newspaper Farhikhtegan, wrote: King Salman "the new king of Saudi Arabia, is known in internal circles as a pragmatic and conservative reformist who seeks peace; among Western sources, he is also known for these characteristics." The newspaper Farhikhtegan noted that "the Arab countries on the Persian Gulf reacted to the death of the Saudi king by declaring public mourning, and senior officials of the Islamic Republic also sent condolence messages to the House of Saud," writing: "In this context, ISIS expressed happiness over King Abdullah's death." The newspaper Etemad, on its front page titled "King Salman, the King of Oil," referred to "King Salman" as the "King of Oil" and stated that with King Abdullah's death on Friday, "the King of Oil" ascended to the throne in Saudi Arabia, noting that "King Salman knows more about oil than previous kings of Saudi Arabia, as his son has long been the 'Prince of Oil.'" This newspaper, while publishing a report titled "Saudi Arabia in Mourning for King Abdullah," referred to the flood of condolence messages from regional countries and simultaneously examined the "record of the deceased Saudi king," stating: "Granting some limited freedoms to women, issuing permits for women's participation in elections and presence in the Shura Council, executing the largest development projects for the Prophet's Mosque and the Kaaba, extensive changes in the judicial system of Saudi Arabia, building numerous universities and research centers, including nuclear research centers" and also "establishing the Allegiance Council" are among the most important changes that King Abdullah implemented in Saudi Arabia. The newspaper Etemad, however, also noted that "although supporters of King Abdullah believe he has taken actions that fewer people will be able to undertake after him, Abdullah's critics believe that throughout his reign, he left a record of human rights violations that international human rights organizations repeatedly criticized him for violently suppressing opponents and grossly violating the rights of prisoners." Mohammad Shariati Dehghan, a former Iranian ambassador to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, wrote in a note for Etemad: "Despite the fact that Saudi Arabia faces serious challenges in foreign policy," it seems "that no significant changes will occur after King Abdullah's death, neither in foreign issues nor in internal matters, and if there are changes, they will be very imperceptible." The newspaper Iran, close to the government, also published images of King Abdullah and King Salman on its front page, describing King Abdullah's death as "the death of the king who failed in reforms," stating that King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz "could have regional and trans-regional impacts. The first impact of this death occurred in the very first hour after his death was announced, with oil prices rising nearly one dollar. However, besides this, King Abdullah's death could even influence the future strategy of the Middle East." The newspaper Iran also wrote: "The death of the king of Saudi Arabia was accompanied by widespread reactions from global news circles, which, besides the impacts of the king's death, wrote about the reforms that this king wanted to implement, but over time, he could not resist to bring them to fruition." Disagreement Among Principlists Regarding Developments in Saudi Arabia. The newspaper Vatan-e-Emruz, close to the Stability Front, dedicated the upper half of its front page to the death of the Saudi king. This newspaper, which previously received a warning from the Press Supervisory Board for implicitly wishing for the death of the Saudi king and publishing a report titled "The News of His Death" during King Abdullah's illness, in its Saturday issue published a photo from King Abdullah's funeral, describing the Saudi king's death as "confirmation of the news of his death and the beginning of the era of weak kings of Hijaz," and wrote on its front page: "Abdullah is dead." Vatan-e-Emruz also described King Abdullah's death as "the blossoming of Islamic awakening" and wrote: "At 1 AM on Friday, February 21, the towering tree of the February Revolution once again blossomed after the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the Islamic awakening in Arab countries. The news of Abdullah's death finally transformed a concealed truth by the House of Saud into an official announcement from the Saudi court; a news that about two weeks ago, 'Vatan-e-Emruz' was taken to court for promising it based on existing evidence, although today it became clear that we are vindicated in the eyes of public opinion." This newspaper, whose owner is Mehrdad Bazrpash, a representative close to the Stability Front, also referred to King Salman, the new king of Saudi Arabia, as the "king of no power," stating: "Salman, the new king of Saudi Arabia, suffers from dementia and Alzheimer's, and during his tenure as crown prince, he repeatedly showed signs of mental decline.