• Commentary
  • Research
  • Experts
  • Events
Carnegie China logoCarnegie lettermark logo
{
  "authors": [
    "Paul Salem"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Middle East",
    "Iran"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

Arab Reactions to Iran's Election: A View from Beirut

While Europe and the United States have been vocal in their response to the turmoil in Iran, its neighbors in the Arab world have been noticeably silent.

Link Copied
By Paul Salem
Published on Jun 30, 2009

Source: Bloggingheads.tv

The turmoil in Iran following the June 12 presidential election, and the contested victory of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has seen widespread response from Europe and the United States. Iran's neighbors in the Arab world however, have been noticeably silent in their reaction to the events unfolding. Paul Salem sheds light on Arab opinion to the Iranian crisis:

"The events in Iran took Iran down a few notches in terms of its high horse that it sat on in the Islamic world, and in the Arab world, and in the Arab-Israeli conflict - that the Islamic state in Iran is the only legitimate, the only fairly democratic [state]... which a lot of people believed... and it enabled Iran to play this moral high ground role. Now in the region, Iran pretty much looks like most other states in the region and that has already taken down Iran a couple of pegs and might in the end be positive in the sense that it no longer puts Iran on a different plain from other states in the region and that might enable a bit more accomodation in the future, although nothing immediate."

About the Author

Paul Salem

Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute

Paul Salem is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.

    Recent Work

  • Paper
    Iraq’s Tangled Foreign Interests and Relations

      Paul Salem

  • Article
    Bracing for Impact in Syria

      Paul Salem

Paul Salem
Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute
Paul Salem
Political ReformMiddle EastIran

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie China

  • Commentary
    China’s Evolving Economic and Security Role in the Middle East

    The advantage that China has over other global powers, especially America, is that its foreign policy is closely aligned with those of many of the Middle Eastern countries.

      Jin Liangxiang, Maha Yahya, Hesham Alghannam

  • Commentary
    China’s Rising Influence in the Middle East

    Transactional relationships are stable but can be shallow.

      • +1

      Paul Haenle, Maha Yahya, Benjamin Ho, …

  • Commentary
    Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Has Jeopardized the China-EU Relationship

    “It’s not so clear how we’re going to get out of this.”

      Paul Haenle, Philippe Le Corre

  • Commentary
    What the Russian War in Ukraine Means for the Middle East

    It’s about managing oil prices, bread prices, and strategic partnerships.

      • +8

      Amr Hamzawy, Karim Sadjadpour, Aaron David Miller, …

  • Commentary
    The Race of Chinese Companies in the 5G Competition

    With the potential of enabling not only significant economic growth but also the innovation of critical technologies in various fields, both the United States and China view 5G as one of the key influencing factors in the “great power competition.”

      Lyu Jinghua

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie China
Carnegie China logo, white
  • Research
  • About
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie China
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.