TEHRAN – A professor of political sciences at South Alabama University says much of the Saudi lobbying activities in the U.S. are “against Iran”.  

“The Saudis focus much of their lobbying activities against Iran,” Nader Entessar tells the Tehran Times.  
Following is the text of the interview:
Q: How much is the Saudi lobby powerful in U.S.?

A: After the Israeli lobby, the Saudi lobby is the second most influential lobby influencing U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and the Islamic world.
Q: What is the focus of the Saudi lobby in the U.S.?

A: The Saudis focus much of their lobbying activities against Iran.  Other than focusing on anti-Iran propaganda, the Saudi lobbying efforts seek to silence or ameliorate sustained criticism of Riyadh's human rights abuses.  It is not uncommon for the Saudis to try to shift the blame to Iran for Riyadh's dismal human rights record.  For example, in February of this year, the Saudis distributed a slick video to the members of U.S. Congress showing destroyed homes and dead bodies of women and children.  The photos in the video were from war crimes committed by the Saudis in Yemen, but the Saudi-funded public relations campaign brazenly blamed Iran for atrocities committed by the al-Saud regime in neighboring Yemen.
Another focus of Saudi Arabia's lobbying in the United States is on portraying a positive image of the Saudi dictatorship.

Q: How much can this lobbying shape the U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East?

“Another focus of Saudi Arabia's lobbying in the United States is on portraying a positive image of the Saudi dictatorship.” 

A: Over the past two years, Saudi Arabia has signed on several high-profile lobbying and public relations firs to try to shape U.S. foreign policy in Congress.  This effort is focused on both the Democratic and Republican members of U.S. Congress as well as the major presidential contenders in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.  According to the Foreign Agents Registration Act registry, Saudi Arabia committed $11 million in direct lobbying in the United States.  If one includes the figures from Riyadh's indirect lobbying, this figure could easily be doubled.  The Saudi lobbying tentacles extend to major U.S. media as well.   The Saudi efforts in this respect include sponsoring op-eds, helping pro-Saudi analysts to publicize and justify Saudi policies, hosting lavish galas for members of Congress, their staff and critical individuals in major U.S. media, and the like.  In all of these efforts, the Saudis and their publicists highlight anti-Iran messages.