Writing in Asharq Alawsat, Saudi columnist Hussein Shoboshi finds the conflict in Lebanon to be less a real war than a “PlayStation War”, with Hezbollah being operated by remote control.

In the same edition, Mshari Al-Zaydi is less oblique:

However, the most important question remains: Whose war is this? Is it a war of Lebanon, all of Lebanon, or Iran, as Walid Jumblatt claims?

On whose behalf are those who fired the first shot acting? Did they fire for the sake of a specific agenda by the ruling Syrian regime, especially as we are nearing the start of an international trial for the murder of Rafik Hariri?

Hezbollah has drawn in Israel’s war machine, which was lying in wait, to Lebanon’s villages and cities. In the process, it did Iran a huge favor, as it maneuvers with the United States and Europe and attempts to use all its cards in the region, including Hezbollah, which is supposed to act in the interests of Lebanon…supposedly.

We are facing a gigantic Iranian assault on the Arab world, in Iraq where Iran has become the number one player, even at America’s expense, according to the Iraqi politician Saleh al Mutlaq, and in Lebanon, where everyone knows how far-reaching Iranian influence is, through its local representative, Hezbollah, since the party’s weapons, finances, ideology, media and military training are all Iranian!

Both go out of their ways to point out that the conflict is not over which religious sect is involved, but over power plays by one regional state seeking to increase its own influence at the expense of the Lebanese people and government. Al-Zaydi notes how Iran is influencing even the Sunni Hamas organization in Gaza. He continues:

Iran cunningly sought to embarrass Arab governments and counted on the inability of countries such as Saudi Arabia or Egypt, to decline to support Hezbollah (in practical terms this means supporting Iran) because of the sanctity of the cause and the fear of everyone adopting a rational stance towards the Arab Israeli conflict.

This shrewd plan was thwarted by Saudi Arabia’s unexpected reaction, which clearly stated: we do not accept that Hezbollah acts and we pay the price. We will not do Iran’s work for her. We are with Lebanon, the country and its people, but we are not with a Lebanon dressed in Hezbollah or Iran’s colors.

I am also critical of the position of some Shiaa intellectuals in Saudi Arabia, as they adopted different views to those of their government. They condemned what they referred to as the “Arab silence” and the lack of support for the resistance (Hezbollah). They accused Saudi Arabia of treason and dissociated themselves from its policies. It is no secret that they only spoke after being instructed to do so.

Both pieces are worth reading.