Saudi’s leadership more popular than Iran’s in 13 Muslim-majority countries: Survey

Approval of Saudi Arabia’s leadership was found to be higher than Iran’s in 13 Muslim-majority countries surveyed by Gallup.

Saudi Arabia’s leadership had substantially higher median approval compared to Iran’s leadership, with figures at 39 percent and 14 percent, respectively, according to a Gallup report published on Wednesday.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

The survey found that Saudi Arabia’s leadership was more popular than Iran’s in all 13 countries surveyed, namely Kuwait, Libya, Jordan, Pakistan, Morocco, Iraq, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Yemen, Palestinian Territories and Turkey.

(Gallup)

Iran received some of its lowest ratings from countries where Tehran is known to interfere in their internal affairs. In Iraq, 86 percent of respondents held a negative view of Iran’s leadership, while in Yemen and Lebanon, 80 percent and 73 percent of the surveyed population respectively disapproved of the Islamic Republic.

(Gallup)

Iran supports dozens of Shia militias in Iraq, the Houthi militia in Yemen, and Shia militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The survey showed that Iran enjoys relatively high levels of approval among Lebanon’s Shia population, with 58 percent expressing support compared to 39 percent who expressed disapproval. However, the situation is different in Iraq, where the Shia Muslim population’s approval rating for Iran is low, with only 17 percent expressing support and 83 percent disapproving. This underscores “a key source of Iraqi nationalist leader Muqtada al-Sadr’s support,” the Gallup report noted.

Of the 13 countries surveyed, Pakistan was the only one where a majority of the population (50 percent) approved of Iranian leadership. In all other countries, the approval ratings were very low, with no more than 25 percent of the population expressing support for Iran’s leadership.

The Gallup report concluded: “Beyond being the world’s most important oil producer, Saudi Arabia remains the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and a perceived leader of the Muslim world. The country’s relative popularity in the immediate and surrounding regions makes it a partner that cannot easily be dispensed.”

Read more:

President Raisi invites Saudi King Salman to visit Iran: Iranian foreign ministry