Israeli-Arab relations

Iran’s Khamenei says UAE ‘betrayed’ Muslim world with Israel deal

Agence France-Presse

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Iran’s Khamenei says UAE ‘betrayed’ Muslim world with Israel deal

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on September 1, 2020 shows him speaking with education ministry officials during a video conference in Tehran. - Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday accused the United Arab Emirates of betraying the Muslim world with its agreement to normalise relations with Tehran's arch-foe Israel. (Photo by Handout / KHAMENEI.IR / AFP) / === RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / KHAMENEI.IR" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS ===

AFP

'The UAE betrayed the world of Islam, the Arab nations, the region's countries, and Palestine,' Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday, September 1, accused the United Arab Emirates of betraying the Muslim world with its agreement to normalize relations with Tehran’s arch-foe Israel.

“The UAE betrayed the world of Islam, the Arab nations, the region’s countries, and Palestine,” Khamenei said in a speech, excerpts of which were broadcast by state television.

“Of course, this betrayal won’t last long but the stigma will stay with them,” he added.

In the agreement, only the third such deal it has struck with an Arab country, Israel pledged to suspend annexation of Palestinian lands.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that did not mean Israel was abandoning plans to annex the Jordan Valley and Jewish settlements across the occupied West Bank.

“I hope the Emiratis soon wake up and compensate for what they have done,” Khamenei said.

“The UAE rulers opened the door of the region to the Zionists, and they have ignored and normalized the question of Palestine.”

It was Khamenei’s first reaction to the agreement between the UAE and Israel that US President Donald Trump announced on August 13.

His remarks came after a US-Israeli delegation landed in Abu Dhabi on Monday, August 31, on the first direct commercial flight from Tel Aviv.

The Iranian foreign ministry had previously denounced the deal as an act of “strategic stupidity.”

The UAE downgraded its relations with Iran in January 2016 amid rising tensions between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic republic.

Tehran-Riyadh relations deteriorated further last year following a series of attacks on tankers in sensitive Gulf waters, which Washington blamed on Iran.

Tehran denied the allegation.

Saudi Arabia and Iran, the region’s two leading powers, take opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen. – Rappler.com

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