Saudi dailies criticize Iraq

The Saudi dailies Okaz and al-Madina have criticized a decision taken by the Iraqi government to withdraw Iraqi pilgrims who entered the Saudi territories on Friday and stressed that the "Iraqi government alone runs the risk of such behavior and its religious and humanitarian risks."

In its Sunday commentary, the Saudi daily Okaz said no observer would expect that the Iraqi decision has invested religious rituals with political purposes.

For its part, the Saudi daily al-Madina said the Saudi position concerning the pilgrims of Iraq unmasked all Iraqi claims, and the Iraqi position has become the focus of denunciation by public opinion in and outside Saudi Arabia.