Saudi-Iran soccer match canceled over Qasem Soleimani statue row

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

59% : However, relations between Riyadh and Tehran saw slight improvement recently.
55% : Relatedly, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan asked to switch the press conference location during his June visit to Iran due to the presence of a picture of Soleimani in the designated area, according to reports at the time.
50% : Soleimani was the longtime leader of the IRGC and participated in several regional conflicts, including the Syrian civil war and the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq.
49% : In September, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Fox News that the kingdom would "have to" acquire nuclear weapons should Iran do so.
44% : Iran supports the Houthis in their conflict with the Saudi-backed government in Yemen.
43% : Images showing the bust of Soleimani on the sidelines circulated on social media.
42% : Why it matters: The incident demonstrates the difficulties in bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
30% : Soleimani is a controversial figure in the region and is reviled by critics of the Iranian government.
29% : Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are also mired in a dispute with Iran over the Durra gas field.

*Our bias meter rating uses data science including sentiment analysis, machine learning and our proprietary algorithm for determining biases in news articles. Bias scores are on a scale of -100% to 100% with higher negative scores being more liberal and higher positive scores being more conservative, and 0% being neutral. The rating is an independent analysis and is not affiliated nor sponsored by the news source or any other organization.