Press tackles Iran over quake

The Iranian Government's priorities come under the critical scrutiny of newspapers at home and abroad.

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In the midst of the news related to the destructive earthquake in Bam, one of the officials gave news of the re-building of Bam's citadel... There is no doubt that the priority lies with the people and such issues as the Bam citadel should be last in line to receive attention. In an Islamic republic system, justice and attending to the masses, should be top priority... If we only learn from Bam's killer quake that we should first see to the needs of the people and then see to other tasks, we will have achieved quite a lot.

Jomhuri-ye Eslami - Iran

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Was it not just several days ago, after what happened in France [the headscarf ban], that some people even went to the extremes of suggesting that we should break our relations with France? Yes, the truth is that a group of people inside Iran close their eyes to the thousands of problems faced by ordinary people... They behave as if... creating tension with different countries is not at all connected to the isolation of Iran and the economic pressures faced by Iranians. The existing problems of our society - one of which is its vulnerability to natural disasters - are so huge, complex and difficult that they can only be confronted through the pooling of resources and capabilities and the elimination of all superfluous and time-wasting side-issues.

Etemaad - Iran

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It is obvious that the Bam earthquake was neither the first, nor will it be the last. Which city will fall victim to the next earthquake in Iran, only God knows. But who is thinking of such matters? Didn't the 1991 earthquake in northern Iran, in which tens of thousands of people were killed or injured, ring alarm bells throughout the country? After that, did officials decide to make the buildings earthquake-resistant?

Tehran Times - Iran

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An earthquake destroyed the Iranian city of Bam, levelling its schools and hospitals. But one building remained intact - the prison. Why was it the only building that withstood the tremor? The answer is that the Arab and Islamic regimes dedicate special attention to prisons and make sure they are strong, so that the prisoners, who are mostly political, would not be able to escape.

Al-Hayat Al-Jadidah - Palestinian

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The truth is that our Arab nations were sad and hurt by the tragedy of their brothers in Iran. It was assumed that they would contribute towards healing the aftermath of the tragedy. Regrettably, our Arab nations have almost stopped giving contributions even to Palestinians, who are facing the most brutal terrorist campaign in modern history...

Al-Arab al-Alamiyah - pan-Arab, London-based

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When our prayers go to the Iranian victims, we also remember the poor Afghan refugees. The shock that jolted part of Iran also shocked Afghans, who have undergone alien invasion, internecine war, earthquakes and floods. We are sorry we cannot assist our Iranian brothers materially as much as we would like to, but we offer prayers for the souls of the victims and wish the survivors the best of luck.

The Kabul Times - Afghanistan

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In principle, most Islamic countries are backward. They are powerless when faced with a devastating earthquake. Japan and California can build sophisticated earthquake-proof buildings, but Algeria, Turkey, Afghanistan and Iran, for instance, lack such capabilities. ... Even if all the members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference unite to help Iran, we still do not have the capabilities of developed countries. Having realised this situation, Islamic countries should not be arrogant. We must build good relations with every country in the world, Muslim or non-Muslim.

Utusan Malaysia

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BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.