Trump as the genie: The US strike on Iran in Arab world cartoons
The U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear facilities has sparked widespread reactions across the Arab world – and not just from leaders and politicians. Idit Bar, a researcher and lecturer on Arab society and culture, reviewed a range of cartoons by Arab illustrators this morning (Monday) on Kan News, each analyzing the situation from a different angle.
In a cartoon published by Hamzeh Hajjaj from Jordan, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is shown sitting on an American carpet instead of a Persian one, pulling U.S. President Donald Trump out of a lamp like a genie.
"Hamzeh portrayed Trump as a wish-granting wizard for Netanyahu, reflecting a critical tone toward the Prime Minister," Bar explains.
In another cartoon illustrated by Fahd al-Bahady from Syria, Trump’s long tuft of hair is drawn as the "Golden Dome," providing protection for Netanyahu and the Iron Dome, which has been damaged by Iranian missiles. Bar notes that here, "we once again see Netanyahu's dependence on Trump, who offers him protection."
Kamal Sharaf from Yemen, known for his hostility toward Israel, depicts the American president as a reckless child jumping off a diving board, about to land on an Iranian missile. According to Bar, "the cartoon criticizes Trump for deciding to jump into the water without knowing what awaits him."
In a cartoon by Reza Aghili in Iran, an anti-regime illustrator, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is shown wearing virtual reality goggles, holding a club, and riding a wooden horse. Khamenei is portrayed as a leader living in a self-imagined reality, while in practice, he is not moving Iran forward at all.
Finally, in Al-Arab, a London-based newspaper funded by Saudi sources, Amjad Rasmi drew a cartoon showing a deeply worried Khamenei holding a Nobel-like flowerpot symbolizing the nuclear project. "The Gulf states are caught between a rock and a hard place," Bar explains. "On one hand, they want to maintain ties with the U.S., but on the other, they also want relations with Iran – out of fear of being attacked."
Yonatan Ohayon is a correspondent for KAN 11 News.
