Arab states, Iran react to Trump presidential win in US

ANKARA (AA) – Arab states and Iran on Wednesday reacted to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s surprise electoral victory, with most sending messages of congratulations.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi was the first Arab leader to congratulate Trump, with al-Sisi saying that he looked forward to "bolstering ties between Egypt and the U.S."

Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah likewise congratulated the U.S. president-elect, wishing him success while praising the "special" relationship between the U.S. and Kuwait, according to the oil-rich gulf state’s official KUNA news agency.

Qatari Emir Sheikh bin Hamad Al Thani and United Arab Emirates President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan also both congratulated Trump, voicing hope for stepped-up bilateral relations with Washington, according to both countries’ official news agencies.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdulaziz, for his part, also congratulated the U.S. president-elect, expressing hope that Trump’s election would contribute to greater security and stability in the Middle East, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

In an official statement, Tunisia’s Ennahda movement also congratulated Trump, noting that the U.S. president played "an important role in shaping U.S. foreign policy".

Ennahda went on to voice hope that the new president’s policies would contribute to "ensuring peace in the Arab world and supporting the Arab people’s aspirations for freedom, democracy and development in their respective countries".

And in a statement carried by Palestine’s official WAFA news agency, Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh declared that the Palestinian leadership would "deal with any president elected by the American people" with a view to "achieving permanent peace in the Middle East based on a two-state solution" to the Arab-Israeli dispute.

Abu Rudeineh went on to stress that Washington "must recognize that regional stability can only be achieved through a just solution to the Palestinian cause".

Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, for its part, which since 2007 has governed the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, urged Trump to reevaluate Washington’s longstanding policies vis-à-vis the Palestinian national cause.

"The suffering of the Palestinian people has continued due to the pro-Israel bias of previous U.S. administrations," the group said in a statement.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, meanwhile, described Trump’s electoral victory as a domestic U.S. affair.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Bucharest with his Romanian counterpart, Zarif urged Trump to comply with the terms of last year’s watershed nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, Iran’s Fars News Agency reported.

Trump, the Republican nominee, won the U.S. presidency on Wednesday, beating Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.